From a younger fan

[M60]

I have also only known of Ronnie and his music for a few years.
I recently (~2-3 years ago) started listening to a lot of Black Sabbath, and thus discovering the awesome voice of Ronnie James Dio. A fan was born. Especially after the Heaven and Hell release I started looking into his non-Sabbath back catalogue, to find some of the best music I have heard. There is something larger than life about it. I must have listened to Rainbow - Rising more than twice a week for the last year.
I was planning to go see him live for the first time on the 2010 The Devil You know Tour.
It hurts more than I would ever have expected. I can't imagine how hard it must have hit all the long-time fans and of course family and friends.

As a 19 year old fan of heavy metal and hard rock it's hard to think about that the big icons and legends might pass away while I am only still discovering them.

Rest In Peace, Ronnie.