William Labov passed away on December 17, 2024 with his wife, Gillian Sankoff, by his side. His pioneering studies of language change in progress positioned the vernacular and its speakers at the center of sociolinguistic research, and helped break down what Kiparsky has called the "firewall" between synchronic and diachronic linguistics. Bill's kindness, generosity, and brilliance have been a profound source of inspiration for generations of linguists, including the many students he trained and sent on to stellar careers of their own. His decades-long presence and enormously positive influence on our field will continue to resonate for a long time to come. 

Special thanks to all who worked to make the memorial and this video possible, including Marlyse Baptista, Brittany McLaughlin,  Meredith Tamminga, Margaret Vitullo, and Alan Brain - who donated his remarkable video editing services (https://alan-brain.com).