If I sound a tad blase about it it's because of his attitude towards it all, like this was just a thing in passing and que sera, c'est la vie, later, suckers. Given his place on this site and being part of its 'golden era,' acting like it and the memers here mattered would have been nice in parting.
The fandom was a bit much - he once posted a lame meme about a sock and it was a hit - as it is with the current 2 'stars,' but he was cool people back when I joined, giving advice and support when needed, etc. But his tone with BOTH departures left a sour taste in my mouth.