In a very sad case of life imitating art, actor Dennis Farina died Monday at age 69 just months after his New Girl character was laid to rest on TV.

In the March 26 episode “Chicago,” Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) and his roommates head to Nick’s hometown for the funeral of Walt Miller (Farina). Johnson clearly had a soft spot for his TV dad, sending this statement to EW on Monday:

“I feel very honored to have had the chance to meet, talk the Chicago Bears, and act with Dennis Farina,” Johnson said in the statement. “He is someone I will surely miss. I looked up to him personally and professionally. I am sad for his family, friends and his fans. We all will miss out.”