--- description: The year 2020 was one of painful loss. Pay tribute to those who left us in 2020, people who changed the world for the better and helped show us a path forward. title: Remembering the Lives Lost in 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt909b46746011fe65/698a14f397cdff4c8c6bb6fc/201204_IN_MEMORIAM_THUMBNAIL_textless.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Remembering the Lives Lost in 2020  by [Stephanie Zacharek](/author/stephanie-zacharek/)  ## Stephanie Zacharek Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Film Critic Dec 7, 2020 9:01 PM CUT  From left to right, John Lewis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alex Trebek and Kobe Bryant. From left to right, John Lewis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alex Trebek and Kobe Bryant.Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images for U.S. Postal Service; Terry Ashe/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images; Amanda Edwards/Getty Images; Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images  by [Stephanie Zacharek](/author/stephanie-zacharek/)  ## Stephanie Zacharek Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Film Critic Dec 7, 2020 9:01 PM CUT [The year 2020](https://time.com/5917394/2020-in-review/ "undefined") was one of painful loss. We said goodbye to [respected leaders](https://time.com/5660188/ruth-bader-ginsburg-dies/ "undefined") and [lawmakers](https://time.com/5697668/john-lewis-dies/ "undefined"), to [gifted athletes](https://time.com/5771909/kobe-bryant-dead/ "undefined") and [entertainers](https://time.com/5884740/chadwick-boseman-obit/ "undefined"), to people who have inspired us and enriched our lives even if we didn’t know them personally. In some cases, people were taken from us far too soon, victims of a pandemic that has caused death and suffering around the world. And some of those we lost were the victims of grave injustice, cruelly robbed of years of life they might have spent with family, friends and loved ones. To lose these people is a reminder of the fragility of life, and a reminder to take care of one another to the best of our ability. But in the midst of feeling sorrow for people who are no longer with us, we should also take comfort in the gifts they gave us while they were here. Here, TIME pays tribute to those who left us in 2020, people who changed the world for the better and helped show us a path forward. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5918622/lives-lost-2020/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5918622/lives-lost-2020/"},"headline":"Remembering the Lives Lost in 2020","datePublished":"2020-12-07T21:01:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:30:18.397Z","description":"The year 2020 was one of painful loss. 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