I like to think of death as being like simply turning in a body which doesn't work any longer. It is hard to see it in those terms when you have just lost a close relative or a good friend. To me it makes sense though in facing my own mortality and in facing life without the company of those whom I care about.
I don't like to tell anyone they are wrong in their religious beliefs. I see religions and their imagery as simply being attempts to represent a larger universe in terms of something a mortal can picture. I liked Bick Mick's comment. It makes a lot of sense to me. For sure, we are all going to miss Rick around here. There's no getting away from that.