Ritchie was found dead on October 12, 2011, at the age of 70at his home in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, where he lived alone. First newsof his death came from his former colleague, Rob Pike. The cause and exact timeof death have not been disclosed. He had been in frail health for several yearsfollowing treatment for prostate cancer and heart disease. His death came aweek after Steve Jobs', but did not receive as much media coverage. Computerhistorian Paul E. Ceruzzi said after his death: "Ritchie was under theradar. His name was not a household name at all, but... if you had a microscopeand could look in a computer, you'd see his work everywhere inside.
In an interview shortly after Ritchie's death long timecolleague Brian Kernighan said Ritchie never expected C to be so significant.Kernighan reminded readers of how important a role C and UNIX had played in thedevelopment of later high-profile projects, like the iPhone.