Dennis Ritchie RIP

I was born in 1973 in what is now Ukraine. Since becoming job-worthy, my wages ever increasingly rest and rely on, ultimately, that book he co-wrote and I chanced to read in early nineties. When defending my PhD, I tried to push one item in my 'stellingen' (that's Dutch for a succinct statement to attest to the laymen taxpayers that my work was worth spending their money), reading: "When admitting new PhD students, only check their proficiency in two languages, English and C; the rest will follow." And I strongly believe it is true.

(In the article, could the editor perhaps replace 'passed on' to 'passed away'?)