“You are an inspiration. And you are 30 days late with the rent,” laughed Melissa Rivers, reading her eulogy at the September 7th funeral of her mother, comedian Joan Rivers. The eulogy was an excerpt from Melissa River’s upcoming memoir, A Letter to My Mother, and revealed the most endearing and lovable parts about Joan’s personality through stories of the mother and daughter living together in a rented apartment.

On September 4, 2014, Joan Rivers passed away at the age of 81. The circumstances surrounding Joan’s death are under scrutiny, though multiple sources share the report that Joan stopped breathing during a routine surgery on her vocal cords. Mid-surgery, Joan’s doctor performed an impromptu biopsy, for which Rivers never signed.  Yet the enormous collection of friends and fans that Joan has amassed over her decade’s long career are looking past the details of her death, and remembering the humor, talent, and heart of the outspoken Rivers, and the laughs she has left for them.

A 1965 appearance on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show,” launched Rivers to fame, with Carson telling Joan, “You’re going to be a star.” Joan went on to guest-host the Tonight Show before starring on her own late night program, the Late Show with Joan Rivers. Rivers received a Tony Award nomination for her directorial effort on Sally Marr, and also directed the 1978 film Rabbit Test. The rest of Joan’s career centered on television and stand-up comedy. She appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice and eventually landed a job as host on E! Network’s Fashion Police, which familiarized modern audiences with her uncensored humor. Joan’s role on Fashion Police “transformed the red carpet,” says Suzanne Kolb, president of E!. “Before Joan, the [red carpet] had no entertainment value for the audience. If you look at anybody doing the red carpet before her — and it was mostly not done live — it was: What are you nominated for? Did you enjoy the project? Joan turned it into a show.”

A “Trailblazing Comedian” and “Feminist Icon,” Joan revolutionized the television industry’s standards for women and comedy. Camille Paglia, author and critic, calls Joan “shockingly fearless in her aggressive speech and gleeful violation of taboos,” and sums up her significance, sharing, “Joan slew the last ghost of sentimentality and propriety that had hung over middle-class white women since the Victorian period.”
Despite her often harsh, brutal (yet honest) criticisms, Joan was known amongst family and friends as gracious, kind, and loving. A particular anecdote, in which Joan delivered Thanksgiving meals to AIDS patients, reminds River’s loved ones of her warmth and heart.

River’s funeral was a spectacle. In a personal memoir, Rivers had expressed her dream of a funeral “with lights, cameras, and paparazzi.” “She got it,” said Giuliana Rancic, Joan’s cohost on Fashion Police. Rancic added, “There were tears, there wasn’t just laughter, there was roaring laughter, and there was such funny moments. We were hysterically laughing with tears streaming down our face. It was great, really beautiful, touching.” A perfect celebration for a woman who has left behind lasting laughter for the world of entertainment.