I, too, am very sad to learn of this. I do not recall having spoken to him before, but I have also ordered parts from him which have been great. And, quite, like some of you I also recently got items from his Pinball Pal site. The company he ran has been excellent!
No matter about the pinball, though, as I do wish him all the best and hope that he has a full and speedy recovery as the world needs as many nice and good people as it can get.