Little Hawk,
I share your perspective on his not being "dead" but having been "set free from an aging and worn out body."   (I felt the same way when my dad left behind his 92-year-old, very deteriorated body a year ago.)   

It is not the fact that Paul was here on earth "only" 83 years that saddens me. While I'd have loved for him to stick around for a few more films and races and more charity work, he left a great legacy during those years, and, it seems, he had a very full, rich, meaningful life. But I am always saddened when the 'departure' is a slow, painful one, as was the case with Newman's cancer.