Gary Gygax, 'Father of D&D,' Dies at 69 The Underwire from Wired.com
While I was never a great fan of Dungeons and Dragons as a game I did play a lot of RPG's including a few sessions of AD&D.
D&D is probably one of the best know RPG's ever and its thanks to that that I made a lot of friends over the years. Its been referenced in more movies and TV shows than i can keep track of, has spawned hundreds of novels and numerous computer games.
I am sure that his passing will be felt through the industry as well as the fans of his games.