[wst_]

I do feel sorry for the guy. I really do. But how is it possible that one guy's tragedy got to the front page of HN? Why everyone's talking about his wife, but not about others, who probably left family and friends in grief the same way.

[askafriend]

He's been a regular contributor here on HN for nearly 10 years - here's his profile: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Matt_Cutts

He's also been an active blogger, sharing his insights from all the work he's done at Google and beyond. These blogs have been discussed here on HN often.

I think people here feel like he's a part of our community and a positive part of the tech community at large.

[exodust]

Apparently a lot of people know him, or know of him, so it becomes "news" of sorts, if out of place in HN context. Can you feel the pressure not to say anything except a condolence message? I certainly can, but I won't because I've never heard of him.

If the man himself had died, I get why that might find its way here because then you could talk about his work etc.

Personal loss happens to every one of us, be it family or friends. It's part of life, it's heart breaking, it's horrible, it sucks, it's painful. Then, you draw strength from their memory and move on because there's no other choice.