Carl Terzian, founder and chairman of Westwood PR firm Carl Terzian Associates, died Saturday.

Terzian, 80, had suffered a stroke earlier this month and was being treated at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

His firm said it would close its doors on March 31.

Terzian was born and raised in Hollywood, attending Hollywood High School before enrolling at USC, where he served as student body president. He also received an honorary doctorate from Burbank’s Woodbury University in 1992.

He was dean and professor of government and speech at Woodbury before handling public relations for architecture firm Charles Luckman Associates.

When Luckman was acquired by a New York firm in 1969, Terzian launched his own full-service PR firm, with famed philanthropist Kenneth T. Norris one of his first clients. Terzian Associates worked with more than 5,000 companies and nonprofit organizations, and hosted more than 800 networking events a year.

Terzian served on more than three dozen corporate and nonprofit boards, commissions, advisory groups and task forces. He had been a member of Hollywood’s Hope Lutheran Church for more than 60 years and also served as a national officer of the American Lutheran Church. He was also one of the co-founders of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Terzian is survived by his wife, Joan; children, Jim and Charlotte; and four grandchildren.

– Subrina Hudson