Loved 'em all, even Maurice. You always kept learning about the characters. Shelly, the prime example, seemed like such a waste of a good looking skin. Then you met each of her parents, and then you wondered how she turned out as well as she did. Eventually you learned by degrees that there really was some intelligence, and a great deal of character, there; Holling was right after all, and she was the best thing that ever happened to him.   
Ruth had come to Alaska to start a new life for herself as a mature widow. D'ya remember when Ed learned how old she was, and bought her a grave site in a beautiful spot as a gift? Her response was to dance with him, on her grave site.
By the end of it all, the insiders were aware of how much Marilyn had become the calm at the center; the last moment of the series was of her looking out her window for a moment, then pulling down the shade.