PARTING WORDS

Advice for living your best life, from prominent people who died in 2017,

“If people believe we can live behind a closed door, they are mistaken. We are in need of friends and allies around the world.” Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 82, former Iranian president. Died Jan. 8.

“People who have it too easy in early life have a disadvantage for later on, because they get to thinking that everything is going to be easy.” Mildred Dresselhaus, 86, “queen of carbon science.” Died Feb. 19.

“When I was on the bench I used to have a yellow pad and I put on the pad at the beginning of the day, ‘patience’ and ‘restraint.’” Joseph Wapner, 97, judge and star of The People’s Court. Died Feb. 26.

“Stories are meant to heal. That’s what my people say, and it’s what I believe.” Richard Wagamese, 61, author. Died March 10.

“Fifty per cent of something is better than 100 per cent of nothing.” Chuck Barris, 87, game-show host. Died March 21.

“People want to know they’re not suffering in silence . . . To know someone is there, that is what these people go forth with. They take this energy to better themselves.” Amy Bleuel, 31, mental health advocate. Died March 23.

“The hardest thing to open is a closed mind.” Ahmed Kathrada, 87, anti-apartheid activist. Died March 28.

“Don’t let the same dog bite you twice.” Chuck Berry, 90, musician. Died March 18.

“One’s never too old to start again.” Ed Whitlock, 86, marathon runner. Died March 13.

“I also exercise every day, even though I’m going to be 100.” Fred Kummerow, 102, biochemist and early opponent of trans fats. Died May 31.

“Don’t trust a brilliant idea unless it survives a hangover.” Jimmy Breslin, 88, journalist. Died March 19.

“To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.” Robert Pirsig, 88, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Died April 24.

“If you’re being interviewed over lunch, never — never — order a drink ... Don’t ... do ... it! ... Even if they do it.” Richard Bolles, 90, author of What Color Is Your Parachute. Died March 31.

“The beauty of mathematics only shows itself to more patient followers.” Maryam Mirzakhani, 40, Stanford professor and first woman to win Fields Medal. Died July 15.

“It is the basic common civility we share with each other that is fundamental. It is thanking our Tim Hortons server. It is giving way to someone on the road. It is saying thanks. It is the small things we collectively do … that make a great society.” Arnold Chan, 50, Liberal MP (Scarborough-Agincourt). Died Sept. 14.

“If we could turn on everyone in the world, then maybe we’d have a new world of peace and love.” Nicholas Sand, 75, chemist who created large batches of LSD. Died April 24.

“Of what use is a dream if not a blueprint for courageous action.” Adam West, 88, Batman star. Died June 9.

“Peace must be more than the absence of war.” Helmut Kohl, 87, former German chancellor and unification architect. Died June 16.

“Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age.” Jeanne Moreau, 89, actress. Died July 31.

“You might as well like yourself; just think about all the time you’re gonna have to spend with you.” Jerry Lewis, 91, comedian. Died Aug. 20.

“To love is simply to allow another to be, live, grow, expand, become. An appreciation that demands and expects nothing in return.” Kate Millett, 82, author of Sexual Politics. Died Sept. 6.

“When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.” Yevgeny Yevtushenko, 84, poet. Died April 1.

“Don’t postpone joy. Keep it hot!” Edith Windsor, 88, LGBTQ activist. Died Sept. 12.

“Life is too short to be living somebody else’s dream.” Hugh Hefner, 91, Playboy founder. Died Sept. 27.

“No dress rehearsal, this is our life.” Gord Downie, 53, Tragically Hip frontman. Died Oct. 17.

“The Sun, Moon and Stars are there to guide us.” Dennis Banks, 80, founder of the American Indian Movement. Died Oct. 29.

“Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.” Liz Smith, 94, gossip columnist. Died Nov. 12.

“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practise being brave.” Mary Tyler Moore, 80, actress. Died Jan. 25.

“The debt of gratitude we owe our mother and father goes forward, not backward. What we owe our parents in the bill presented to us by our children.” Nancy Friday, 84, author on gender politics. Died Nov. 5.

“Discretion is the polite word for hypocrisy.” Christine Keeler, 75, model at heart of the Profumo affair. Died Dec. 4.

“If you’re not getting the things you want, need or desire, it’s because you have not accepted that you can have them.” Della Reese, 86, singer and actress. Died Nov. 19.

“The most important things to be acquired for freedom and democracy are identity and dignity.” King Michael of Romania, 96. Died Dec. 5.

“When you hit a wall — of your own imagined limitations — just kick it in.” Sam Shepard, 73, playwright and actor. Died July 27.