Simpsons Get All Classy with Tribute to the Late Marcia Wallace, A.K.A. Edna Krabappel

As you probably heard, last week the great Marcia Wallace passed away from complications of pneumonia. The comedian first made a name for herself on The Bob Newhart Show, but of course she was probably most famous for her role as the voice of Edna Krabappel on The Simpsons.

Well, last night The Simpsons said goodbye to the loveable Mrs. K., and they really hit it out of the park. Instead of simply showing one of those all-black "in memoriam" screens at the end of the episode, the show's creators used the iconic blackboard bit in the opening to pay their respects.

Seriously, how can anyone who has grown up watching The Simpsons not get a tiny little tear in the corner of their eye while looking at that? What a fantastic tribute.

Of course, despite the fact that Bart has officially mourned Marcia's death, Mrs. Krabappel will actually live on for the rest of the season because Wallace had already recorded a year's worth of material for Ned Flanders's second wife. (Oh yeah, in case you haven't actually watched the show in a while, Ned Flanders married Edna Krabappel. Spoiler alert?) According to TMZ, executive producer Al Jean says Krabappel will be written off eventually, but they haven't decided how they'll do it.

And no, this is not the character Jean had previously said would be killed off. Marcia's passing is just a tragic coincidence. You'll have to keep watching to uncover that other mystery.