(WSB Radio) - Atlanta radio listeners loved Mike Kavanagh. News/Talk 750 WSB is overwhelmed by the outpouring of condolences for the award-winning journalist and Money Matters Talk Host. Kavanagh suffered a heart attack at his Alpharetta home Saturday, his 57th birthday.

Mass celebrating Kavanagh's life will be said on Friday, December 12, 2008 at 10:30am at Saint Brigid Catholic Church, 3400 Old Alabama, Rd., Johns Creek, GA 30022. A reception will follow at 11:30am.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to either FODAC -Friends of Disabled Adults and Children Clark Howard's Christmas Kids-DHR Secret Santa Program c/o News/Talk 750 WSB or Hosea Williams Feed the Hungry.

Listeners may also send a card or note to:

Kavanagh Family

c/o News/Talk 750 WSB

1601 West Peachtree Street

Atlanta, GA 30309

Kavanagh is survived by his wife Grace, his daughter Melissa, and his granddaughter Kelsey. He also leaves to mourn his 94-year-old mother, Catherine Kavanagh, his brother Roger Kavanagh, and sister Eileen Cooke and everyone his News/Talk 750 WSB family.

"Everything Mike did was top notch," said Scott Slade, host of Atlanta's Morning News. "He had no peer."

Captain Herb Emory, WSB's lead traffic reporter said," No one served the listener better than Mike Kavanagh."

Kavanagh was a veteran of two worlds - broadcasting and financial planning. In 2007, he celebrated 40 years in radio and TV work. Since 1987 he divided his life between broadcasting and financial planning.

Before moving exclusively two years ago into his role as host of Money Matters, one of the longest running financial advice radio shows in the country, Kavanagh spent 15 years as co-anchor with Lisa Campbell of Atlanta's Evening News on News/Talk 750 WSB. Money Matters made its debut on WSB in 1990.

Said Campbell, "Mike was an incredible talent, a good human-doing, my longtime co-anchor, but most of all, my dear, dear friend. I will miss sharing our stories, and hearing about how much he loved Grace. There will never be another Kavanagh."

Since 1994, Kavanagh had been a senior partner in the financial firm Capital Investment Advisors, Inc. in Atlanta, GA where he was a fee only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER.

His long career included work in Washington D.C. and New York as well as Atlanta. In addition to local radio and TV, Mike worked in the early days of CNN both as a radio anchor for daily business news and as a TV anchor for CNN Headline News.

Kavanagh won numerous awards, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award for the investigative report, "Ripped off in the Name of God" a series which exposed multi-million dollar investment scams. He also worked as part of the team backing up noted consumer advocate Clark Howard.

"He cared about every last person he dealt with about what would happened to them financially," said Clark. "Especially in this last year, he would shepherd his clients through the crisis. After a while that can begin to wear on you."

Kavanagh was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, but his heart belonged to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

"Every Friday afternoon, when Mike was anchoring, he'd play the fight song in the newsroom to get everyone ready for the weekend," said Condace Pressley, Kavanagh's friend and colleague. "There is a huge hole in all of our hearts today."

Not only was Kavanagh passionate about news, your money, and Notre Dame, he was also passionate about radio. He was one of the founding members of the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame. He also created and managed a website about the radio station History of WSB Radio.

Mike's mission was to convince consumers that investing is not difficult, that fear and greed will combine to be the worst enemies of your financial plan and the main goal of all financial planning is to create your own person "SWAN" plan -- which stood for "Sleep Well at Night".

In tribute to Mike Kavanagh Sunday, WSB rebroadcast the November 23rd show with Santa Claus. [LISTEN: Part 1 | Part 2] Mike's message that day was a challenge to all of us to live with an "attitude of gratitude." Pictured with Mike and Santa are associate producers Clark Barrow and Crystal Wheeler, and engineer Matt Fields.

Visit Mike Kavanagh's Facebook Page