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I am really suprised that this didn't come up before
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/04/11/dave_arneson_61_pioneered_fantasy_role_playing_games/
he rolled his final

Dave Arneson was less well known than Gygax. It has not been widely reported (though saying that, I am in Japan, perhaps it has been in the news in the west.)

OotS did a nice tribute strip, which is how I found out about it.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0644.html

Well, fortunately or unfortunately (or both for that matter), the RPG hobby has been round long enough that the people who pioneered things are starting to get old and expire.

Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax are probably the most recognizable names out there, but there have certainly been others. I know that personally, the news which struck home for me was Erick Wujcik's passing last year. Here was a person whose material I enjoyed and I corresponded with a bit.

I'm sure other folks can add more than a few names to the list, but these people who have made a contribution to the hobby will have a legacy in print so to speak for some time to come. That's likely cold comfort to their friends and loved ones who are dealing with these folks being gone, but there it is.