Following the end of the year it is time to commemorate the stars and notable figures from Wales we have said goodbye to over the last 12 months.
The sporting world mourned the passing of rugby greats like John Dawes and Paul Jones while actors Helen McCrory and Mei Jones also sadly left us.
Here's a look back at the careers, the legacies, and the tributes of those well-known Welsh figures who died during 2021.
Sporting world
Just days ago former Olympic sprinter and one of Wales' greatest sporting figures, Ron Jones, died at the age of 87.
Jones won 12 Welsh sprint titles between 1956 and 1960 and competed at two Olympic games, four Commonwealth Games, and three European Championships – captaining Team GB at the Mexico Olympics in 1968.
He was also a part of the Great Britain 4x110 yards relay team set that a new world record of 40.0 seconds in 1963 with his remarkable efforts in the British team alongside Peter Radford, David Jones, and Berwyn Jones to stun the US team perhaps what he is best remembered for.
As well as his exploits on the track Jones also became Cardiff City's first managing director in 1980, holding the post for eight years.
Either side of his time with the Bluebirds were stints as chief executive of Queens Park Rangers and managing director of Portsmouth.
He was awarded an MBE in 2001 for services to sport and charity, having been a governor of the sports charity Sports Aid Cymru Wales. In addition to that he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
In April, it was announced that former Wales and Lions captain John Dawes had passed away aged 80. Read a tribute tohim here.
Dawes is the only man to have skippered a triumphant Lions tour of New Zealand while he had the further distinction of both captaining and coaching Wales to Grand Slams.
He also led the Barbarians to their famous victory over the All Blacks in Cardiff in 1973, playing his part in Gareth Edwards’ legendary try.
The world of rugby was also rocked by the deaths of former Welsh international Owain Williams, aged 56, and Paul Jones, aged just 49.
Williams, who played in the back row for Glamorgan Wanderers, Bridgend and Cardiff, was a hugely popular figure in Welsh rugby.
He was capped once, lining up against Namibia at Windhoek in June 1990, while he also skippered Wales Sevens and represented the Barbarians.
In 1996 he played in the inaugural Heineken Cup final and wore number seven for Cardiff as they narrowly lost to Toulouse at the old National Ground.
Over an 18-year club career he played more than 500 games. You can read a moving interview he gave to WalesOnline last year about his life here.
A fine athlete with a huge work-rate and a fearless competitor he was also one of the great characters of the game. Away from rugby the father-of-four had a job with a difference and was in charge of the set construction for the TV show Casualty.
He had fought a long battle against cancer having had his right eye removed after being diagnosed with a tumour in 2006 and undergoing further surgery on his liver. In 2018 he lost his brother, former Wales and Lions star Gareth, to a rare neurological illness, multiple system atrophy, aged 63.
Tributes were also paid to former Wales B international Paul Jones who passed away at the age of 49 in September.
Jones, who hailed from the Bridgend area, played in the second row for Llanelli, Newport, Caerphilly, and Leeds.
Nicknamed Stretch, the former Brynteg pupil made 74 appearances for the Scarlets between 1992 and 1996, scoring 15 tries. He also played for Caerphilly in the final of the 2003 European Shield against Castres at Reading’s Madejski Stadium.
In November former Cardiff City and Swansea City manager Frank Burrows died at the age of 77. Burrows managed the Bluebirds twice – first during the late 1980s and again between 1998 and 2000.
He also led the Swans between 1991 and 1995, winning the Football League Trophy in 1994.
Burrows was a popular Cardiff manager after taking over with the club in the bottom division of the Football League in 1986.
He went on to achieve promotion to the old Third Division the season after his appointment. And when he returned to the club in 1998 he guided the Bluebirds to promotion once again, this time reaching Division Two.
Also at the close of the year former Wales rugby player Brian Rees died aged 79. The former hooker, who won three caps for his country during the 1967 Five Nations Championship and went on to become a distinguished surgeon, passed away on December 29.
The Neath-born ex-player's death prompted an outpouring of tributes with Jonathan 'Jiffy' Davies describing his as an "absolute legend".
Entertainment world
Peaky Blinders star Helen McCrory kept her cancer battle private so news of her death died at the age of 52 was a major shock.
Her husband, actor Damian Lewis, announced the news in a heartbreaking statement, saying: "I'm heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family. She died as she lived. Fearlessly.
"God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you."
McCrory was born in Paddington, London, to a Welsh mother and Scottish-born father and was the eldest of three children. She married Lewis in 2007 and they had daughter Manon in 2006 and son Gulliver in 2007.
Mei Jones, one of Welsh television's best-loved faces, died, aged 68, in November. Tributes can be read here.
Best known for his performance as Wali Tomos in the hugely popular S4C sitcom C'mon Midffild, the Bafta Cymru-winning actor and scriptwriter's passing prompted a huge reaction from his friends, fans, and colleagues. Born in 1953, Jones was a talented footballer as a youngster and was selected for Wales at youth level. He also played for several teams including Bangor and Beaumaris.
Along with co-writer Alun Ffred Jones, Mei won the Bafta Cymru for best drama series for C'mon Midffild in 1993.
In a tribute to him his colleague Jones told S4C: "Mei was a talented actor and an original scriptwriter who always gave his best and expected that from everyone who worked with him.
"I could and probably should have written more but we can thank you for all that you have done. He made a very significant contribution to the Welsh entertainment scene."
The family of reality television star Nev Wilshire paid tribute to him following his sad death in December.
The businessman and entrepreneur, who wowed audiences in the hit BBC reality series The Call Centre, passed away following a short illness.
In a statement Nev's family described him as a "much-loved dad" and "adored Grampy" before sharing some words of wisdom from the late star.
It read: "It is with the greatest of sadness that we announce the death of Neville Wilshire of Five Roads Llanelli, late of Swansea. Much-loved dad of his four children, Becci, Jon, Phil and Abi. Son of Marian and the late Professor Brian Wilshire. Brother of Ralph and the late Keith Wilshire. Adored Grampy Nev to his six wonderful grandchildren. We ask that you respect our privacy during these sad times.
"In Dad's own words: ‘Look after each other and care for each other. When it all comes down to it at the end of my life, I will not be giving people instructions of details on how to run a successful business ,I will be responding to how those around me are.
"'The family is very important to me, both my close family and those I share my time with each day. The more you give the more you receive. The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart...
"'I am by nature a happy person and I do all I can to create a happy environment around me... We all have to take knockbacks in life, just get back in the saddle with a smile on your face and ride.'"
Earlier in 2021 Welsh-born actor Ben Roberts, best known for playing Derek Conway in The Bill, died aged 70.
Roberts starred in The Bill between 1987 and 2002. His character acted as Chief Superintendent Brownlow's most trusted officer.
The actor, pictured left, was born and grew up in the Coed Mawr area of Bangor.
Radio Wales presenter Janice Long's death was announced to shocked fans in December. The former BBC Radio One, Radio Two, and Top of the Pops presenter died at home on Christmas Day surrounded by her family.
A lifelong music fan Long's trailblazing career spanned five decades and saw her break through a number of glass ceilings. She made history as the first woman to have her own daily show on Radio One and was also the first woman to present Top of the Pops.
She was also one of the main presenters of the Live Aid charity concert in 1985.
Political world
The "radical socialist" Llew Smith died of cancer aged 77 in May. Mr Smith was MP for Blaenau Gwent from 1992 to 2005 and before that a South Wales East MEP from 1984.
The former Welsh Labour politician had also worked as a miner and was a strong opponent of devolution.
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford paid tribute to him, saying: "Llew was a radical socialist in the Blaenau Gwent tradition.".
Mr Smith campaigned for a no vote in the run-up to the 1997 devolution referendum.
Former Labour MP Elystan Morgandied aged 88.
Baron Dafydd Elystan-Morgan sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords from 1981 to 2020 and served as a Labour MP from 1966 to 1974.
Educated in Aberystwyth he originally stood as a Plaid Cymru candidate, contesting Wrexham three times and Merioneth in 1964.
He joined Labour and was elected as MP for Cardiganshire in 1966, serving as a junior minister from 1968 to 1970 as under-secretary at the Home Office.
He was chairman of the Welsh Parliamentary Labour Party between 1971 and 1974. He led the campaign for devolution in 1979.
Later in the year tributes were paid to the founder of Nant Gwrtheyrn who died after a short illness. Carl Clowes set up the centre in a former quarrying village on the northern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula as a place where people could go to learn Welsh.
The village had been abandoned in the 1970s following the closure of the quarries. The redundant houses, offices, chapel and shops constructed during the quarry’s heyday between 1860 and 1920, when more than 2,000 men worked the granite, had fallen into rack and ruin.
Dr Clowes, along with others, renovated the buildings and restored the village.
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