Whoa! 

Now that's a shock.  61 isn't very old.  Sorry to see him go.  His work was greatly entertaining. 

Oh my. Sixty-one is far too young.

I met Bob Aspirin once, when I was working a local con and he was one of the guests of honor. This was back around 1980, so he'd have been in his mid-thirties. He made an impression on me, mostly because he struck me as being a little feral under the surface. I gathered that he'd grown up in a tough neighborhood and he'd never entirely shed the defensive mentality. He still carried a set of small triangular knives hidden in his belt, ready at a moment's notice if the need arose. Lynne Abbey's description of who he was at heart -- always on guard, never trusting -- is certainly in line with the impression I got.

I'm sorry he's gone.

~Beth