My condolences, I never knew him personally but my thoughts are with you & his family.
I'm in a similar situation right now, I lost a cousin of mine on Friday. You may have heard it on the news. He was alone at his cottage in Bracebridge when it went up in flames at 3am. He battled cancer for 3 years and was finally free of it this fall. He was happy again and to have this happen on Christmas Eve was a nightmare. Christmas felt different this year.