Surrounded by family and friends, Tallahassee lobbyist and political strategist Jim Krog died Thursday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 60 years old.

Krog managed both of Democrat Lawton Chiles' successful campaigns for governor in the 1990's and was a prominent lobbyist before and after that. He fought skin cancer during the past year and was undergoing chemotherapy at the time he was stricken. He died at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and is survived by his wife, Louella, and a son, Christopher.

Krog was blessed with keen political instincts and a quick sense of humor. The old-school political operative was a Tallahassee fixture who adapted to his times. A partisan Democrat, he also became a lobbyist for Big Sugar and helped the agricultural giant kill a penny-a-pound tax in 1996 to clean up the Everglades. He could battle a rival in the Capitol and share drinks afterward at a nearby Capitol watering hole, holding court for hours during legislative sessions.

"I opposed him a lot of times and he was always just a really nice guy," said lobbyist Guy Spearman, who worked alongside Krog on the staff of Gov. Reubin Askew in the early 1970's and remained one of Krog's closest friends.

Every college semester, Krog returned to his alma mater, the University of South Florida, with Republican lobbyist Jim Magill, to give encouragement to students interested in pursuing careers in government or politics. "What Jim exemplified is that you can be passionate about your cause and still be friends with people on the other side," said USF's long-time lobbyist, Kathy Betancourt. "Everybody loved being around him."