rick752 of the famous rick's easylist has passed away on April 3rd due to a brief illness. He had suffered a stroke on St. Patrick's Day. He was 56 years old.

It's with great sadness that have to announce the passing of a good friend and our EasyList author, Rick752. Rick had suffered a stroke on St Patrick' Day, and I was just informed that Rick had passed away last evening. During this short period, while hospitalized, Rick had his family very close by his side. There was some able communication and awareness between Rick and his family before his passing and although given this short period to "prepare" for the inevitable, this news (as with any of this type) is still quite shocking and difficult to accept.

I have a lot of good, and most of all FUN & FUNNY memories of Rick and I will truly miss his gift of gab and wide array of knowledge about a variety of subjects. I have already spoken to Wladimir Palant who assures us that the EasyList will live on and be maintained regularly. The funny thing is Wladimir sent that message to me yesterday morning; which if I know Rick it's almost like he was waiting for that assurance! He was very proud of and dedicated to this project and most of all I know he enjoyed the communication, contributions and friendships he has made with others while he was able to assemble and maintain the EasyList.

http://www.legacy.com/TimesUnion-Albany/Ob...sonId=125731751

Petnel, Richard J. ALBANY Richard "Rick" J. Petnel, 56, passed away Friday, April 3, 2009 at St. Peter's Hospice Inn after a brief illness. Rick was born in Lansingburgh, N.Y., July 3, 1952, the son of the late Joseph and Marion Petnel. He has been a lifelong resident of the Capital District, residing in Colonie for the last 15 years. He was a machinist for MTI out of Albany for 19 years. Rick aka "Rick 752" was also very active and well known in the internet world. He spent a great deal of time maintaining the web page "Ad Block Plus" and was featured in a Washington Post article in connection with the same.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...referrer=reddit

A machinist and self-described "blue-collar guy" in his mid-50s from upstate New York, Rick752, as he's known online, spends most nights upstairs in his den assembling a list of Internet ad sites and related data. That work, dubbed EasyList, enables millions of Web surfers to filter and freeze out nearly all advertising that would otherwise appear on their screens.

Yet the effort to block millions of Internet ads, while drawing raves from users, is feared by some who say that if it continues to grow in popularity, it could threaten the financial underpinnings of much of the Web, where publishers are largely dependent on advertising. Rick, who said he receives no money for his work, agreed to talk only if his full name was withheld.

"I'm playing against some pretty big players," he said, explaining his reluctance to step forward. "I don't want to be harassed. . . . I don't want to be bribed.

"I started it because I was frustrated with getting my computer infected from ads -- malware and spyware and all that stuff," he said. "I kind of went overboard with it. But you have to admit, it's pretty amazing, right?"

That's a shame, and so young too. :(

My thoughts are with all that he left behind.

Yeah, I read about it on Slashdot.

:(