Who died in 2023? A look back at some of the year's most memorable passings

On a November afternoon in tiny Plains, Georgia, former first daughter Amy Carter, now a 56-year-old woman out of the spotlight for decades, reluctantly approached the microphone at the funeral for her mother, Rosalynn Carter, 96.

“I chose something that is hard to read without crying,’’ she said. “My mom spent most of her life in love with my dad.”

She then unfolded a letter that Jimmy Carter had written to his wife 75 years ago when he was in the Navy. Unable to speak, the former president, 99, listened from a hospital bed wheeled into the crowded church.

“My darling,” the letter began.

The televised service and VIP-filled pews – three presidents, all five living first ladies – was familiar and somber, and yet marked a brief return to normalcy in today’s chaotic culture of mean-spirited memes and digital cynicism. Death and remembrance do that.

In this year’s annual “Passages,” USA TODAY’s roundup of the most notable deaths of 2023, there are lifetimes of such losses. The accomplishments of those who came before, the true “influencers” of their times, can be measured by their impact on our culture, our nation and, most importantly, on the lives of those around them. The departed leave lessons and sometimes spark smiles amid the tears.

It’s hard not to smile at the hyper-energized joy of singer Tina Turner, 83, who never did anything “nice and easy,” and influenced everyone from Janis Joplin to Beyoncé. “You have paved the way,” remembered Beyoncé, who teamed with Turner on “Proud Mary” at the Grammys in 2008. “You are strength and resilience.”

Defying trends was singer Tony Bennett, 96, a kid from Queens who shortened his name from Benedetto because it had too many syllables. Through rock, disco and rap, he never gave up his embrace of the Great American Songbook. “For my money, the best singer in the business,” rival Frank Sinatra once said.

Testing cultural boundaries was television producer Norman Lear, 101, whose socially aware comedies such as “All in the Family,” “Maude” and “The Jeffersons” brought issues such as racism, gay rights and abortion to prime time. You can get away with it, Lear said, “as long as you stay strong and the ratings are good.” They were.

A lifetime of music and activism marked the long career of singer and actor Harry Belafonte, 96. “He lived a good life,” said former President Barack Obama. “Transforming the arts while also standing up for civil rights.”

Others like television evangelist Pat Robertson, 93, divided the nation. A self-described “happy warrior,” he drew criticisms for relentlessly targeting homosexuals, Democrats and social welfare. Nonetheless, “he transformed the Republican Party and with it American politics,” said Christian activist Ralph Reed

Controversial as well was the architect of U.S. foreign policy through much of the 20th century, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, 100, who opened the path to China for President Richard Nixon but also helped prosecute and end the Vietnam War. He won a Nobel Peace Prize even as he was denounced by some as a war criminal.

And then there were deaths that simply shocked everyone, such as amiable “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, 54, who drowned in his hot tub. “This has cut deep,” said his former co-star Jennifer Aniston. “Rest, little brother. You always made my day.”

Few knew actor Andre Braugher, 61, popular star of "Homicide" and "Brooklyn-Nine-Nine" was battling lung cancer before he died in December. "An extraordinary actor but, more profoundly, the departure of a warm and kind soul," said producer Shonda Rhimes.

Lance Reddick, 60, popular star of "The Wire" and the John Wick movies died of a stroke. "A man of great strength and grace," remembered actor Wendell Pierce. "The epitome of class."

Unexpected too was the loss of feel-good singer Jimmy Buffett, 76, a victim of cancer. With roots in calypso and toes deep in middle-class vacation dreams, Buffett knew it was always 5 o’clock in Margaritaville. His Parrothead fans were as reliable as Deadheads or Swifties, all searching for that "lost shaker of salt.”

With 42% of Americans born after 1980, according to the U.S. Census, to millennials and beyond, some of the departed may be simply names from the 20th century, if those generations remember them at all. But these people were all, for good or bad, shapers of what was to come.

Newsmakers who made a difference

Prominent deaths also included the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, 93, a conservative who cast swing votes on social issues such as abortion and affirmative action; Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, of California; global civil rights activist Randall Robinson, 81; military analyst Daniel Ellsberg, 92, who released the secret Pentagon Papers in 1971 about Vietnam; Dr. Susan Love, 75, a surgeon and advocate for breast cancer research; and former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow, 97, who memorably called television a “vast wasteland.”

Patricia Schroeder, 82, Colorado’s first female member of Congress, ran unsuccessfully for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination; Kevin Phillips, 82, helped develop a “Southern strategy” for Republicans in the 1970s; Roslyn Pope, 84, wrote “An Appeal for Human Rights” in 1960 that helped advance the civil rights movement; and Samuel Wurzelbacher, 49, known as "Joe the Plumber," became a favorite of conservatives in the 2008 presidential campaign.

They were the entertainment of our lives

Actors lost also included Ryan O’Neal, 82, star of hit films such as “Love Story,’’ which brought tears to moviegoers in 1970. “A huge part of my success was due to his generosity as my co-star,’’ said Ali MacGraw. “We remained friends ever after.”

Oscar-winner Alan Arkin, 89, was a reliable character actor in more than 100 films, including “Wait Until Dark” and “The In-Laws”; Richard Roundtree, 81, helped kick off Black action movies with “Shaft” in 1971; Italian movie icon Gina Lollobrigida, 95, was called “the most beautiful woman in the world”; in America, Raquel Welch, 82, softened her sex-symbol image with comic roles; Israeli actor Topol, 87, starred in Broadway and film versions of “Fiddler on the Roof”; and two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson, 87, went on to join British Parliament. “The greatest actor this country has ever produced,’’ said England’s Jonathan Pryce.