Sad to hear about this. Have been busy at Denver over the weekend and getting ready to fly back home to Seattle early Sunday morning, and this is the first time I'm hearing this news.
I still remember JEWEL was the first Ayu song I've heard when I started my Ayu fandom back in late 2006 (since this was the song Ayu was using to promote her "Secret" album during that timeframe).
May he rest in peace. JEWEL was certainly one of my favorites.