I do genealogy and correspond with distant cousins online. Sooooo... a second cousin once removed and I were in touch for a few years. We emailed and he even snail-mailed me books he'd written, I mailed him a holiday card. It was refreshing to find another eccentric, absent-minded professor type outside my immediate relatives. I would say he was on the Spectrum. I wrote him early this year to let him know I was thinking of him, but didn't see a response. I just found his obituary online (it of course provided genealogically-appropriate facts and evidence of his "quirkiness"). He passed away late last year (at age 80). I miss this kind, open, generous person whom I never really knew, but imagine. Can I cry?
Edit: We had corresponded for nine years --- infrequently, but sincerely.