At the end of Star Trek: Generations (1994), surveying the wreckage of the crashed USS Enterprise he captained for nearly a decade, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) muses to his first officer, William Riker (Jonathan Frakes):

… time is a companion that goes with us on the journey, reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we’ve lived.

… time is a companion that goes with us on the journey, reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we’ve lived.

Smiling, he quips to Riker, “After all, Number One, we’re only mortal.”

Passing away this week at 86 years old, we are sadly reminded of that mortality with the death of Sir Patrick Stewart: actor, dramaturge, Shakespearean exemplar, mutant professor, and distinguished Starfleet captain.

From humble beginnings

Born in Mirfield, England, in 1940, Stewart grew up poor during the worst days of the second world war.

He found his calling to theatre as a child, thanks to a keen-eyed English teacher and a copy of Shakespeare’s plays.

He left school at 15 to become a working actor in community theatre.

His extraordinary talent would lead to a stay at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, membership with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a host of acclaimed........

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