Duffy, her Step By Step costar, said he’ll miss the “phone calls, the emails, the visits, and the meals and laughter.”
Former costars and friends of Suzanne Somers are mourning the death of the Three’s Company and Step By Step star, who died on Oct. 15 at age 76.
“As with everyone who knew her, I was stunned yesterday by the news that my dear and deep friend Suzanne had passed,” Patrick Duffy, who starred alongside Somers on Step By Step from 1991 to 1998, told PEOPLE on Monday. “For that brief moment, it was unbelievable. But indeed, she has passed. She beautifully passed through my life on this leg of her endless journey. My task now is to remain on the roadside as she continues on.”
Duffy also said he’ll miss “the phone calls, the emails, the visits, and the meals and laughter.” His statement continued: “But the dialogue of deep and thoughtful, and silly and frivolous continues. My conversations with her now will be held solely through my daily Buddhist practice.”
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“I am not alone in wishing I had one more face-to-face with her and [her husband] Alan, but had we had that meeting last Friday I would still be yearning for just one more today,” Duffy added. “It is the painful beauty of our present human reality. What strength and support I can muster I send to Alan and [her son] Bruce and her family and to her I say; When the stone of your life dropped in this pond you made quite a ripple my friend. Thank you.”
Similarly, Joyce DeWitt, a costar of Somers on Three’s Company, offered a statement to PEOPLE. “My heart goes out to Suzanne’s family,” DeWitt said. “They are a very close family — deeply connected and caring one to the other. I can only imagine how difficult this time is for all of them.”
She continued, “I’m sure Suzanne was greeted by Angels into the loving wisdom waiting for all of us on the other side, and I hope that will assist her family’s hearts in healing as they travel through this difficult time.”
