His voice was always a surprise to people that first met him because nobody is expecting that. He had a sense of humor about it and it was in no way a false voice, that was just what he sounded like. It definitely made him funnier.
He had mentioned his declining health and was missing events on a regular basis. He was also dropping a lot of weight and I think the he and everyone else knew that when that happens that the end is just around the corner.
Don't mind the pun, this is something that we state almost exactly on the regular.