Fred Smith, author and mentor to executives and leaders, including John Maxwell, Philip Yancey and Zig Ziglar, died Aug. 17 in Texas. Smith, 91, had health issues in recent months, Regal Books officials said.

Smith's Breakfast With Fred will be released by Regal on Sept. 4. A contributing editor for Leadership Journal for 20 years, Smith also wrote Learning to Lead: How to Bring Out the Best in People (W Publishing Group, 1986), You and Your Network: 8 Vital Links to an Exciting Life (Executive Books, 1984) and Leading With Integrity: Competence With Christian Character (Bethany House Publishers, 1999).

Smith has been awarded the Lawrence Appley Award from the American Management Association, the INJOY Catalyst Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Norman Vincent Peale and Ruth Stafford Peale Humanitarian Award.

"He is the best and wisest teacher I have ever met," Ziglar wrote in a recent book dedicated to Smith.

Smith is survived by Mary Alice, his wife of 65 years, three children, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Sept. 7 at Northwest Bible Church in Dallas.

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