I'm always sad when one of the two villagers who fell down the waterfall dies. The fact that they are older than the rest usually means that they will be the first to go, so the impact of their death is harder. I always amend the standard wording on their tombstones to include the fact that they were founders of the tribe.

Oddly, I also find myself particularly attached to villagers who have negative dislikes; ones who hate fish, or turnips, or running. Those who succeed in becoming masters or Elders in spite of their dislikes I kind of admire; it's rather like admiring those who succeed in life despite a disability like blindness.