Shouldn't I let him know that I will get someone else in case he does submit a rec letter; I think I actually have to remove his name from the recommender list on some online applications and if he does submit something, it might not even go through. No one actually told me his wife died, but he did mention in class that his wife was sick and I googled him and saw in the local news about his wife dying. It just seems weird for me to tell him that I know about his situation.