Catherine E. Coulson, who played the Log Lady on Twin Peaks, died of cancer on Monday morning aged 71.

“We are all deeply sad, she meant so much to so many,” said her agent, Mary Dangerfield, who confirmed her death. Coulson was set to return to the Showtime reboot of Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch said in a statement, “Today I lost one of my dearest friends, Catherine Coulson. Catherine was solid gold. She was always there for her friends — she was filled with love for all people — for her family — for her work. She was a tireless worker. She had a great sense of humor — she loved to laugh and make people laugh. She was a spiritual person — a longtime TM meditator. She was the Log Lady.”

Coulson worked as an assistant director on Lynch’s 1977 debut feature Eraserhead. During filming, the pair created the character of Margaret Lanterman, a woman who carried around a log with which she appeared to have a psychic connection. The Log Lady would go on to make regular appearances in both seasons of the cult TV show.

Coulson also worked as a camera assistant and reprised the Log Lady role in the 1992 feature Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Recently, she appeared in an episode of satirical comedy Portlandia and in Gary Lundgren’s 2013 film Redwood Highway. [via Variety]