General Hospital stars honor Leslie Charleson at touching Celebration of Life

The soap world mourned when beloved General Hospital star Leslie Charleson passed away on January 12, 2025, at the age of 79. The actress would have turned 80 on February 22, so friends, family, and co-stars got together to remember Charleson during the weekend of her birthday.

Charleson's General Hospital legacy

Charleson brought Monica Quartermaine to life on GH from 1977 until last year. While the actress had not been seen often since a fall in 2018 that left her injured, Monica remains a part of the Port Charles scene. She is spoken of frequently, and entire story arcs are still built around her. Recently, Tracy practically kidnapped Willow's children, all for Monica's sake.

Her passing left a hole in the hearts of those she worked with on GH, as evidenced by their heartfelt words from her Celebration of Life.

Beautiful tributes to Leslie Charleson

GH stars and others in attendance took to social media to share memories from the event, including ABC7 entertainment reporter and GH fan George Pennacchio.

"A lovely goodbye today for a lovely lady," he wrote on Instagram. "I attended the memorial service for “General Hospital” legend Leslie Charleson. We were all given little memory candles to keep her in our thoughts. There was a lot of love at today’s event and even a visit from Leslie’s beloved horse, Romero."

Lisa LoCicero, who plays Monica's niece-in-law Olivia Quartermaine, wrote: "There will never be another like her.. a beautiful celebration for a beautiful soul.. especially @wallykurth bringing the music. Thank you for sharing your life with us Leslie."

Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) also shared lovely sentiments for her beloved co-star.

"Beautiful celebration of this wonderful woman," Hughes wrote. "The stories about Lester’s generosity and kindness and above all her fun-loving way of life. Her love of animals, her horses, her joy in acting. It was touching to bring her two worlds together for an afternoon, her GH family and her equestrian friends 💕 rip sweet Lester, we love you."

Former GH star Ian Buchanan, who played Duke Lavery off and on from 1986 to 2015, shared two photos from the celebration — one of the event's program and another of himself with GH stars Hughes and Lynn Herring.

"A Wonderful Celebration for a Glorious Friend," Buchanan simply stated in one post, followed by "A Lovely Celebration.❤️Leslie Charleston.❤️" in another post.

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