10 The Simpsons Characters Who Were KILLED OFF!
2. Mona Simpson
Homer's absent mother Mona has been a part of The Simpsons ever since she first called her son a disappointment during season one's "There's No Disgrace Like Home", but didn't actually make a proper appearance until season seven in the episode "Mother Simpson".
Voiced by the legendary Glenn Close, Mona Simpson would eventually show up to attend her son's funeral after he fakes his own death to get an extra day off work.
Believed dead herself, Mona eventually admits to running away with hippies while Homer was still small, eventually getting involved with some pretty serious protests and falling foul of the law. Rather than face jail time, Mona went on the run, leaving her life - and son - behind for a life as a fugitive.
The character would come and go over the years, but her frequent disappearances only drove a wedge between herself and Homer. In a truly sad moment, Mona dies while still estranged from her offspring, never getting the real closure that she longed for and that Homer deserved.
Sitting though the montage of young Homer and his mother as her final episode "Mona Leaves-a" comes to a close is a guaranteed tear jerker.