I heard that news a few days ago, too. It made me stop and think how many of my friends stayed in touch. I kept up with communicating to the ones who moved away, but in distance and being busy raising kids, it isn't easy to stay close. I have two close friends locally that I can call on any time. We keep up with each other by phone if we don't see each other in person, almost every day. One is a sculptor, a guy I've known since 1974, and the other is my voice teacher, whom I met about ten years ago.
When my parents were killed in 1979, the cathedral in Helena, Montana, was filled to capacity for their funeral. Hundreds of people were there, and I had no idea who most of them were, but they knew my parents.