The founder of the Theory of Sampling (TOS) passed on 5 November 2015. The sampling community was shocked to the core and has been grieving since. We are only now beginning to get to grips with the fact that Pierre Gy is no longer with us. However, a passing is not only grief and sorrow—after a time it is also the beginning... The beginning of a celebration of a life extraordinarily well lived, of a man in full as regards both family and his professional scientific achievements which are sine qua non. It is a clear obligation to our community to dedicate a full issue of TOS forum to his fantastic life and extraordinary achievements.