I think he's still alive and kicking... he was in his early 80's when I built the scope with him. He used to eat raw potatoes and drink half & half... very interesting guy! He did lectures in the evenings about his theories on the universe etc which, looking back, I was fortunate to attend.

Always thought the sun-scope dobsonians were neat too... basically a standard with the top cut at 45 degrees and either welding glass or some form of mylar over the top. Pretty cool to look at the sun through a 16".