Jack Kyser, the chief economic adviser for the Southern California Association of Governments and the founding economist for the Kyser Center for Economic Research at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., has died. He was 76.

“On behalf of the SCAG Regional Council and staff, I would like to offer our deepest regrets and condolences to his family and friends. Jack enriched our lives and our agency, and we will sincerely miss him,” said Larry McCallon, SCAG president. The SCAG released a statement confirming Kyser’s passing but did not offer the cause or exact date.

Kyser, who retired from his post at the LAEDC in July, was a sought-after voice for analysis on the Los Angeles economy. Born in Huntington Park, Calif., he attended Downey High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in industrial design and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. Before joining the LAEDC in 1991, Kyser worked as a business reporter in Omaha and as a teacher of economics at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and spent eight years as an economist with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

Kyser is credited with building the LAEDC’s much-respected economic-research department, which in 2008 was named after him. Kyser was active in the region’s economic community, serving on the Economic Policy Council of the California Institute, the research and policy arm of the California congressional delegation, and on the economic advisers panel for the California Chamber of Commerce. He had served as president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Business Economists and was a member of Lambda Alpha, a land economics fraternity. Kyser was also on the board of directors of the South Park Economic Development Corp. and the Building Owners & Managers Association of Greater Los Angeles.

“He was one of the best,” said Nancy Sidhu, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., who took over for Kyser when he retired in June.

“Many economists are attracted to the field because it offers them the chance to use the mathematics they learned in college, but if they speak in mathematical equations, they don’t have the ability to explain clearly in the terms of ordinary people. Jack’s ability to communicate was unique in that regard. Partly it was unique because he spent time working before he came to the chamber. He spent time working as a reporter on public radio in Omaha, where he learned the virtues of saying a lot in a few words.”

Those who worked with Kyser regularly praised his encyclopedic knowledge of Los Angeles business.

“He relished the role of being Mr. Los Angeles Economy,” Sidhu said. “No one knew more about L.A. County. And if you had time to talk and ask questions, he had time.”

Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association, first worked with Kyser in 1990 when she was executive director of the CaliforniaMart (now called the California Market Center).

“Jack was then, as always, a supporter of the manufacturing sector of the city’s economy,” she said. “When I formed CFA in 1994, Jack continued to supply me with information and our friendship was formed. He was the one who suggested that we move the CFA offices to the LAEDC in 2000, and we remained close in business and personally since then. His professional and political predictions were always right on target. I will miss our conversations greatly.”—Erin Barajas and Andrew Asch