Kevin DeLory, chief lending officer and partner at Equity Prime Mortgage, passed away at 53, company CEO Eddy Perez announced on LinkedIn and Facebook.
His death was attributed to cancer, social media and other published reports noted.
"Yesterday, we lost more than a partner," Perez said in those April 9 postings. "We lost a brother, a father, a son, a husband, a mentor, and one of the greatest collaborators I've ever known, and I've ever shared the battlefield with."
DeLory helped lead Equity Prime's transition to a wholesale-only shop in the fall of 2023. He
Other stops in his career, which started in 1997, included Option One, New Century, Equifirst and Mid-Island Mortgage, the profile said.
"I am always in search of my next challenge," DeLory said in his bio on the EPM website. "I truly believe a Leader should: know the way, go the way, and show the way."
Perez called DeLory "one of the heartbeats" of Equity Prime.
"He led with clarity, showed up with conviction, and gave this company everything he had," Perez continued. "And for me personally… he gave me something even greater — a friendship that changed the course of my life."
The Atlanta-based company
Multiple comments on social media expressed the grief over his passing.
"Kevin was such an inspiration, a man of integrity and honesty," said Kimber White, a past president and current president-elect of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, in a reply to Perez' Facebook post. "He showed all how to live life even in his darkest moments and keep the faith."
Even though DeLory had been battling cancer for several years, Perez said his passing was "a shock to our system — and to our hearts.
"Rest easy, Kevin. We'll carry it from here — with full hearts and unwavering gratitude."
