Starting with David Bowie in January through Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds this week, 2016 brought what feels like a dizzying number of celebrity deaths. In Acadiana, we also said goodbye to a number of notable people.

Evelina Abdalla died in December at age 99. She was the last surviving member of a generation of retailers that dominated the market in Lafayette, Iberia and St. Landry parishes throughout the 20th century.

Beth Guilbeaux, a well-known music advocate in the Lafayette community, died in October at age 67. She was well known for her volunteer work and her commitment to the arts and music.

Ray Brignac, a longtime public servant, died in October at age 86. He was one of the founders of the Teche Vermilion Freshwater District in the 1970s.

Al Lippman, a well-known attorney in the business community, died in September at age 78. He was also known for his philanthropy and  for his work helping to build Morgan City.

Edouard LeBlanc, a popular Lafayette chef and musician, died in September at age 32.

Morgan J. Goudeau III, who served 24 years as St. Landry Parish’s district attorney, died in September after a long battle with cancer.  He was 87.

Margaret McMillan died in September at age 96. During her roughly 75-year career as a swim teacher in Lafayette, she taught generations of children and adults to be safe and have fun in the water. She founded the McMillan Swim School in 1962 and was the Women’s Physical Education Department coordinator at what is now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural Jr., leader of the Grammy- and Emmy-winning band Buckwheat Zydeco, died in September at age 68. His band’s music has been heard by millions, from high-profile gigs that included the Olympics, presidential inaugurations, national TV shows and hit movies, like “The Big Easy,” “Fletch Lives” and “The Waterboy.”

Robert Sidman, a longtime actor in local theater, died during a performance in September at Cité des Arts. The 76-year-old acting veteran was also a professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Charlie Bernard, a longtime businessman and past Mardi Gras king, died in July from pancreatic cancer. He was 75.

The Rev. John Langley, known for his ministry as a chaplain for Hospice of Acadiana, died in June at age 82. He spent many hours traveling across Acadiana ministering to the patients, families, caregivers and staff.

Ruth Butcher Bowen, wife of former Lafayette mayor Kenny Bowen, died in May at age 86.  Her father was the founder of Butcher Air Conditioning and an early business and banking pioneer in Lafayette.

Larry Holbert, founder and president of Holbert Steel, died in April after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. The 77-year-old Texas native and oil businessman started Holbert Steel in 1983 and located the company in Broussard.

Edgar “Sonny” Mouton Jr.,  a longtime Louisiana political leader, died in March at age 86. He was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1964 to 1966 and the Louisiana State Senate from 1966 to 1980.

David Egan, notable songwriter, singer and piano player, died in March at age 61. The ex-Shreveporter was well known for his time with classic band A-Train.

William “Bill” Rucks III, founder of W.W. Rucks III Oil Properties, died in March at age 85. Rucks was well known in the oil and gas industry. He was a past member of the Lafayette Association of Petroleum Landmen as well as the American Association of Petroleum Landmen and was a Certified Petroleum Landman.

Edward Rubin Jr., a lawyer and son of Lafayette Judge Edward Rubin, died unexpectedly in February. He was 38. Rubin, the brother of former professional tennis star Chanda Rubin, was also a member of LSU’s Final Four tennis teams in 1999 and 2000.

Michael Placer, a longtime Lafayette attorney, died in January at age 73. Among his achievements were several significant court cases, the founding of the “Barristers’ Club”, an organization of local solo attorneys, and the naming of “The Promulgator”, the magazine of the Lafayette Bar Association.

Manning Francis “Bozo” Billeaud Jr., a commercial builder and father of 17 children, died in January at age 88. For 55 years, he worked at J.B. Mouton and Sons, the now-five-generation construction business founded by J.B. Mouton, his maternal grandfather.

Mervin Harmon, a local civil rights leader, died in January at age 89. During World War II, Harmon was a mechanic crew chief in the Tuskegee Airmen program that trained black aviators. He later became the first black man to serve on the Lafayette Parish Police Jury.

John St. Julien, a longtime public education advocate and leader in the campaign to bring city-owned fiber to local homes, died in January at age 63. His widow, Layne Darby St. Julien, and others have launched a nonprofit to raise money for an endowed professorship honoring him in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette College of Education.READ MORE: Final goodbye: Roll call of those who died in 2016