In Memoriam 2016: 11 Celebrities Remembered by Their Friends and Colleagues

To many observers, the deaths of icons like Prince and David Bowie and Muhammad Ali made 2016 seem like a particularly tragic year for the loss of giants of the cultural world. While those deaths shocked the world, every week of every year has sadnesses of its own. So, since the very first issue of TIME, the magazine has marked those deaths—and celebrated those lives—in a column called Milestones. Throughout the year, the column is a place for those who knew the departed to remember and celebrate their friends and peers.

Here are 11 of 2016’s notable Milestones obituaries:

Glenn Frey, remembered by Linda Ronstadt: “He had a clear idea of the story he wanted to tell—and he told it with that guitar. He had plenty of talent, but he also had raw nerve and gumption.”

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Marvin Minsky, remembered by Ray Kurzweil: “He was the consummate educator, for that was his greatest joy and passion. But he was also many other things: a scientist, a mathematician, an inventor, an engineer, a roboticist, a writer, a philosopher, a polymath, a poet, a musician and most of all a student of human nature and thinking.”

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Boutros Boutros-Ghali, remembered by Kofi Annan: “With characteristic directness and intellectual agility, Boutros sought to confront and overcome the complex challenges of the day.”

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George Martin, remembered by Brian Wilson: “I just remember he was still very skilled at mixing and working in the console, despite losing his hearing in his later years. He was a handsome man with a calming voice, and when we were listening to ‘God Only Knows,’ I remember him saying how he loved my brother Carl’s voice.”

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Garry Shandling, remembered by Jeffrey Tambor: “Garry was all about being alive and in the moment. He asked you to bring everything about your day into the work, to go beyond the laugh to reveal character and humanity.”

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Zaha Hadid, remembered by Frank Gehry: “She created a language that’s unique to her. I suppose it will be copied, but never the way she did it.”

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Katherine Dunn, remembered by Chip Kidd: “Dunn’s art made us all into a new kind of geek—the nerdy, obsessed, fannish kind. And yes: we loved her for it.”

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Morley Safer, remembered by Lesley Stahl: “He was as much fun as his stories, which were often full of whimsy, like the one about how much the dour Finns like to tango.”

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Gordie Howe, remembered by Wayne Gretzky: “Growing up in Brantford, Ontario, I wrote letters to NHL players. Gordie, my hockey idol, sent me back a signed picture. When I was 10 or so, he visited my town, and I was lucky enough to meet him. Gordie grabbed his stick and put it around my neck. He couldn’t have been nicer.”

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Edward Albee, remembered by Tracy Letts: “Mr. Albee (he once asked me to call him Edward, but it never felt right) led the charge for a freer form of expression, changing theater and contemporary American life—the way we speak, the way we tell jokes. He shifted long-held beliefs and attitudes about marriage, love and class. He was determined to make trouble—he considered it an essential part of a playwright’s job.”

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Leonard Cohen, remembered by Judy Collins: “It was momentous to hear Leonard singing those songs. He went right to the core with an expression that was so unusual and deep.”

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