I agree with inemptwill. Yet you also have to keep your friend in mind. Since you state you have not been so very close in the past year, maybe this year was when he needed support from his friends the most.
Did you know his father, if not maybe he feels this is a family matter? Is this how he deals with death?
I would be the person who called none of my friends, as not to burden them with my grief. I would also be the person who would not place an obiturary or make a big fuss over a funeral, as I feel that the time to act is when the person is living. But that's me.
Send a card and say how truly sorry you were to hear about his father. Ask if maybe you could get together when he feels up to it. Then you have done the best you can.
