Rush drum legend, Neil Peart, passed away a year ago today, on January 7, 2020, after a long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. In an extensive feature at Rolling Stone, Peart’s bandmates and widow discuss his legacy and his final years for the first time since his passing. An excerpt follows:

Peart handled his illness with heroic strength and stoicism, friends say, even as he fought to survive. “He was a tough man,” says Rush frontman Geddy Lee. “He was nothing if not stoic, that man. He was pissed off, obviously. But he had to accept so much horrible shit. He got very good at accepting shitty news. And he was OK with it. He was going to do his best to stick around as long as he could, for the sake of his family. And he did unbelievably well. He accepted his fate, certainly more gracefully than I would.”

Peart always dismissed unnecessary discussion of unpleasant subjects with a hand wave and a hearty “never mind,” and that’s what friends heard if they tried bringing up his illness or treatment. “He didn’t want to waste his remaining time talking about shit like that,” says Lee. “He wanted to have fun with us. And he wanted to talk about real things right up to the very end.”

Peart never complained, Lee jokes, unless he “ran out of smokes.” “One time I arrived without any alcohol,” adds Lee, a serious wine collector. “And I’m famous for arriving at his house with what he used to call ‘your bucket of wine.’ And I didn’t bring it this one time. And he was just so appalled. So of course, the next day, Alex and I went to a wine store and made sure we arrived with a bucket of wine. And all was good again.”

Read the complete feature at RollingStone.com.