Helen Slayton-Hughes Dead At 92: ‘Parks And Recreation’ Alum’s Family, Co-Stars Pay Tribute

“Parks and Recreation” fans are grieving the death of one of its stars, Helen Slayton-Hughes.

The veteran actress, who was best known for stealing scenes as Ethel Beavers on “Parks and Recreation,” passed away Wednesday, her family shared in a statement posted to her Facebook page. She was 92.

“To the friends and fans of our beloved Helen, Helen passed away last night,” her family wrote. “Her pain has ended but her fierce spirit lives on. Thank you for the love and support of her and her work. Rest sweet one.”

Slayton-Hughes’ family also shared a video documenting her years-long acting career, along with a quote from the late actress which read, “I love doing drama but I’m always hired to do comedy.”

The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Several celebrities and fans paid tribute to Slayton-Hughes on social media, recalling the joy she brought to them through the various characters she played as an actress.

Aubrey Plaza, her co-star on “Parks and Recreation,” wrote on Instagram: “It was always Ethel Beavers. Always. Rest in peace, Helen. You were so loved and admired and I wanna be you when I grow up.”

Fellow “Parks and Recreation” alum Retta shared Plaza’s post on her Instagram Story along with pink heart emojis.

“Farewell, Ethel Beavers,” Jon Weisman wrote.

“I am so sorry for your loss. I became a fan of Helen later in her life following her role in ‘Parks and Rec.’ Helen brought a lot of light and laughter to the world and will be deeply missed. Thinking of Helen’s family in this sad time,” one fan commented.

“She was such a wonderful person and actress. I first knew of her as Ethel Beavers, and she brought so much laughter to my home through that,” another fan wrote.

The majority of Slayton-Hughes’ acting credits came later in her life. She guest-starred on several high-profile comedies, including “Malcolm in the Middle,” “Arrested Development,” “My Name Is Earl,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “New Girl,” Entertainment Weekly reported.

In addition, she was cast in the “Bachelor”-spoofing web series “Burning Love.” However, her biggest break was playing the fierce, straight-faced flask-wielding stenographer Ethel in the Pawnee courthouse in the hit NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation.”

Ethel had numerous lovers in the show, but no one was as important as Mayor Gunderson, played by Bill Murray. Gunderson’s face was only revealed in the Season 7 episode “Two Funerals.”

“I had to give a speech about my ex-lover, but nobody told me who it was, and the coffin where I was supposed to kiss my ex-lover was empty,” Slayton-Hughes said about the episode, according to EW.

“So, it was just pretend, and I thought that was the end of that scene, but a couple of days later they called me and said, ‘We need you very much to come in tomorrow and reshoot that scene.’ I felt terrible because I thought I must’ve done it very badly. Why would we have to reshoot a whole scene? And then I went in the next day and there was Bill Murray,” she shared.

According to Slayton-Hughes, the producers explained that they couldn’t shoot the whole scene until Murray was available. She was “thrilled” after learning who was playing her ex-lover.

“And then I got to be hugged by Bill Murray for a long, long time,” she added.