With this economy, it sucks for anyone to loose their job. He may of been a piece of shit, but his family probably isn't...But still, if one don't do the job then one should not have the job.
I hope the new boss isn't one of those power micromanaging types. You know the type who are always over your shoulder telling you how you can do things better and faster. You might miss the old shit who stayed in his office playing solitaire.
I worked for a power manager once. He was always around checking things out and expecting 10 hours of work in a 8 hour shift. He was always saying, "Make time" if you showed something could not be completed in his time line. He was a tightly wound class A type of person. A real PITA to work under. He didn't get fired, he dropped dead from a heart attack at a fairly young age...Probably from all the stress he allowed into his business life along with being a heavy tobacco smoker.
I do feel bad for the for the guy and his family, but sure as hell didn't miss working under him.