Update: December 20th, 2016:
A message from Toby’s wife, Kiel:
“It’s with the deepest grief that I tell you that Toby passed away early this morning, Tuesday, Dec. 20. We were both so very moved by the outpouring of love and support from all of you. Before we settled down for the night, Toby was looking at your messages and the notifications of donations. He was touched beyond belief. Those were the last moments that I saw him alive—bathed in your love and appreciation. I couldn’t have wanted a better end for him.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I will never forget your love.
I will use your donations to pay for his hospice care this past week, as well as cremation and service (details are yet to be worked out) and to help me with living expenses while I start a new life. We will close the YouCaring page soon. If you feel moved to make further donations for my support during this transition, it would be deeply appreciated. But please know that your love and support have blessed Toby’s and my life forever. We are so grateful.
May Toby’s legacy be carried forward by all you good people.
Blessings and gratitude,
Kiel Hemenway”
Original Post: December 19th, 2016:
The following message is from Toby & his wife Kiel:
In October of 2015, Toby was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He completed a course of chemotherapy at UCSF in San Francisco, but a CAT scan taken a couple months later indicated that the cancer had spread to his liver. He began a second course of chemotherapy in October 2016, which was interrupted when he developed septic shock in November.
Since then, additional scans show that the cancer has continued to spread in his liver. Toby signed up for home hospice on December 16, 2016.
Toby is no longer able to work, and his wife, Kiel, is his full-time caregiver. We are asking for support to help us meet expenses for living and caregiving.
We want to extend our deepest gratitude for all those who have already offered their prayers, time, food, and friendship. Thank you all. And please know that no offering is too small, and prayers and good wishes are so appreciated.
We have set up a page at YouCaring requesting donations and messages of support. You can click the link below to donate:
This message posted by Toby’s webmaster, Kane Jamison. Please email kanejamison [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions. Toby and his wife are unable to respond quickly to any messages at this time, but messages of support at https://www.youcaring.com/tobyhemenway are appreciated and encouraged, and Kane can pass along any other messages.
So sorry to hear this. Please watch “Eating you alive”. Doco made by James Cameron (Avatar/Titatnic).
This book also comes greatly recommended:
https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Remission-Surviving-Cancer-Against/dp/0062268759
All the best! xox
Toby,
Thank you for all the wonderful things you have taught us. We truly appreciated your efforts, especially at this difficult time for you.
We pray for your peace and comfort.
Diane
Thank you for your life’s work. It — and you — have made and are making a huge difference in people’s lives. Mine, my children’s, my entire family’s, for sure. And many more.
Love you Toby!
Toby
You are a gifted writer and speaker. Thanks for all the guidance and knowledge you have provided to your readers and fans . You have helped improve the soil of so many of our souls in addition to the soil of our gardens . Your work will live on for many generations . May peace be with you .
Life is about the Love
Tom
Thanks for being part of Toby’s life work, Kiel. I’m so sad to read that he lived so close by and I never visited. I won’t make that mistake with others in my life. Here’s to a life well lived–and those who help us make that so!
You will be missed, Toby. I have given away many copies of your book to people who seem to me to be deeply motivated to learn about Permaculture. It remains the best intro to the topic that i know of. You have done many things to make our world a better place and I deeply thank you for that. We never met, but I think of you as a respected friend . I take this opportunity to wish you a fond farewell. Thank you again for a life well lived.
Peaceful passage, Toby. Few souls have left such a lovely, gentle, and profoundly meaningful mark on this world.
Buddha with you Toby and family. Amitabha and Medicine Buddha bless you.
Dear Kiel,
I was a great admirer of Toby based on his YouTube lectures and his two superb books, Gaia’s Garden and The Permaculture City, but I never had the good fortune to meet him personally. I did, however, send him an Email, telling him how much I admired his work, and he graciously responded, telling me also of his bout with cancer.
Then last October, I enrolled in what must have been one of his final week-long online classes, through the PermaEthos site, where I had the good fortune of interacting with him electronically, face to face.
Even then I noticed how wasted he had become due to his cancer, but I still hoped, at that time, that I would get to meet him in person one day, for my wife and I plan to move back to Oregon (where we met and married 30 years ago) some time this summer or fall, after I retire.
Alas, that was not to be. Even though I knew him only slightly and at a distance, his keen intellect, amazing depth of knowledge, and warm, generous personality deeply touched me, and I grieve his loss. After I retire, I intend to devote the rest of my life to learning and teaching Permaculture, and accordingly, I will always revere Toby as my mentor. If there is anything further that I can do for you, please let me know. Even though I have never met you, I already feel as if you are family.
May peace be with you in your sorrow.
With deepest condolences,
Tom Ellis
I still haven’t gotten my life together. I should be able to do so soon enough. Over the last year, I’ve learned about Amazon and affiliate marketing and such. I’m close to breaking through.
– I met Toby so long ago, I can’t even remember. But, like I said above; i never got around to doing permaculture because I’ve yet to get money flow. I’ve always thought, once I finally get my life going, I”m going to do permaculture.
I just googled him to see how he’s doing. And, well, I find that he’s been struck down by cancer.
This is of course disappointing news for me; and, I’m sure you’ve already been through the emotional roller coaster.
I have to leave a message.
Well, I should say that I did meet him in San Diego. It was probably like 2001 or something. I remember him raising his head and saying hi. He seemed intrigued at me being there. A young man, instead of all the older people(don’t mean any disrespect towards the others; but, I was the only younger person there).
Well, the good news upon checking on Toby is I see that his vision is still alive and well!
I hope to get a math and an architecture degree. Design and build my own house, and make a permaculture garden all around . . . way out in Julian, San Diego. This is my dream; and, I’m wished I could have told him this.
Dear Kiel and fans of Toby,
For KZYX radio’s (Mendocino County Public Broadcasting) 30 year anniversary we are going to air 20 minutes of two interviews we did of Toby (Oct 7, 2019). The original interviews were on April 15, 2013 and August 3, 2015 just afterPermaculture City was released. In preparing the segment I am hearing what a sweet, deeply intelligent, thoughtful and loving being he was. It will air Monday October 7th sometime between 11:05 AM and noon, as part of a funding drive show (where we will offer one or a choice of his books as thank you gifts), streamed at kzyx.org or later available at jukebox.kzyx.org, and after 60 days it should be at the website. Gaia’s Garden greatly informed us in setting up our gardens and permaculture orchard in 2012-13 and restoring it after a July 2017 fire. The two unedited shows can be found at media.kzyx.org/mp3/farm. –Bill Taylor and Jaye Alison Moscariello
I just wrote a response to his 2005 article and was eager to hear back from him. So sad to read he passed away! What a brilliant thinker and considering Peak Oil is near, he would have been a valuable person to discuss the current issues of the world with! I hope somebody gets to read the long comment I wrote about his article on the outcome of the Peak Oil crisis on urban and rural environments.