Alexis Bledel, 33, joins other members of the on-screen Gilmore family in remembering the late Edward Hermann, who played the patriarch in the popular Gilmore Girls series.

Bledel, who played Rory Gilmore, the granddaughter of Hermann’s character, Richard Gilmore, for seven years on the show, released a statement to E! News in the wake of the actor’s death on New Year’s Eve.

“Ed Herrmann was a wonderful actor and a kind man,” she said of the 71-year-old veteran actor. “He was endlessly knowledgeable about theater, TV and film, and would generously share his wisdom or tell stories from a long and rewarding career. I am grateful to him for that, and will miss him tremendously. He loved acting and was the head of our Gilmore family with his strong presence and great sense of humor. May he rest in peace.”

"I will miss him tremendously"—Alexis Bledel remembers "the head of our Gilmore family'': http://t.co/okNv0mgyGm pic.twitter.com/zGwzasvMeX

— E! Online (@eonline) January 3, 2015

A number of other Gilmore Girls co-stars have also expressed their grief and admiration for the actor.

“My friend Ed Herrmann was the kindest, classiest, most talented man,” said Lauren Graham, who played daughter Lorelai Gilmore. “It was an honor and a joy to know him, a devastating blow to lose him.”

Alexis Bledel releases a statement on #GilmoreGirls co-star Edward Herrmann after his death. http://t.co/qZHvswIsCF pic.twitter.com/TGFmrYywlb

— JustJared.com (@JustJared) January 2, 2015

“Besides being a consummate actor, he was kind and funny, fair and honest and always willing to join in the game,” said Kelly Bishop, who played Hermann’s onscreen wife, Emily Gilmore. “We shared a love of acting and of being working actors and I suspect he was secretly grateful for all the opportunity and success he enjoyed…and deserved. His brother told me Ed never stopped learning; he was always curious. When I think of my dear friend, a phrase comes to mind: ‘A hale fellow, well met.’ And I am so lucky to have met him.”