Born in Madison, WI, on June 23, 1976, and raised between Hamburg, Michigan, and Kiel, Wisconsin, Kaitlin’s life was one of deep empathy, spiritual wisdom, and service to others. As a Priestess of Cycles, Kaitlin had a rare and profound gift for guiding people through life’s transitions—through song, sacred ceremony, and the holding of space for grief, celebration, and healing. Her presence was steady and radiant, a source of calm and compassion for countless individuals navigating life’s most difficult and meaningful moments.

She is survived by her loving and beloved husband Bruce Johnston; her father Michael Hetzner; her sisters Megan (Terry Andersen) Hetzner and Molly (Ryan) Rabe; parents-in-law Joyce and Craig Johnston, brother and sister-in-law Ross Johnston and Rachel Winstedt; nieces and nephews Azure, Zane (Iyanla Rivera), and Winter Tinkle, and Harper and Gavin Johnston-Winstedt; and great-nephew Ivíca Sol Lokahi Rivera-Tinkle. She is also survived by her chosen family and dear friends in the Earthaven Ecovillage community, where she found connection, purpose, and home.

Kaitlin was preceded in death by her beloved son Rowan Kavanaugh Lindsay Johnston, her mother Nora Lindsay Hetzner, maternal grandparents Kenneth and Rosalie Lindsay, and paternal grandparents Hugo and Jean Hetzner.

A ceremony in honor of Kaitlin’s life was held at Earthaven Ecovillage on Saturday, August 9. All who were touched by her light are welcome to gather, sing, grieve, and celebrate the extraordinary soul she was and will continue to be in spirit. For more about how we do home funerals and burials, see Home Funerals, Green Burials, which will be presented live online on November 2, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to one of these great causes in Kaitlin’s memory:

• Earthaven Ecovillage, her community
• The Temple of Diana Inc., of which Kaitlin was clergy
• Donate to a scholarship for the Midwest Women’s Herbal Conference
• GoFundMe for supporting Bruce after the sudden loss of Kaitlin

More from Kaitlin:

• Creating Ritual with Kaitlin Ilya Wolf podcast
• Growing Red Tents or Women’s Circles recording of an online workshop

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Transcript from Video:

Hi folks, my name’s Steve Torma, and I’m coming to you from Earthaven Ecovillage. I’d like to share with you five of my favorite moments of being here at Earthaven since the beginning really.

The probably the first one that comes to my mind is the first day that we as a group ritually entered the land on September 11th 1994. We formed like a bird as we all walked in and it was just really special moment that I will always cherish.

The next one that comes to my mind is working on building the council hall. We did it all ourselves. We were kind of figuring it out as we went along. It was a lot of fun . It was very exciting; a lot of both playful and creative energy going on.

Another one for me is playing sports on the village green. Kickball has been one of my favorites because it’s so inclusive of people of so many different ages and skill levels. Especially watching the kids learning the rules and having fun. Making sure that we don’t keep score so that people feel bad and all that kind of thing. I just really have a lot of fun just being out there running around playing.

I’ve also had some great beautiful moments in the stream near the neighborhood where I live, Village Terraces. There’s this gorgeous stream and a little waterfall and it’s such, especially in the hot weather, it’s such a beautiful cooling nourishing sensual experience. I just so, so love that!

Then the last one is the most recent one.  We just had a an NVC class so I call it a level three class and the level of connection between people was so sweet and nourishing to me. The depth of learning. All of us kind of learning together these beautiful principles that help make our lives more wonderful. On our final day we had a gift exchange kind of process where people just offered and asked for all things that they wanted to make our lives more wonderful together. That was a really nourishing experience for me as well the whole class was but especially that last day.

So thanks for listening and look forward to talking to you some more…

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Written by Arjuna da Silva

It was hard to lose three of our most outstanding members last year, though it sure showed us what kind of folks our community is made of. Kimchi, Goddess of Beauty and Determination. Suchi, Queen of Loyalty and Cooperation. Chuck, Champion of The Good Fight and Lama of Permaculture—they all carried the banner for Earthaven for over a decade (Chuck having been a founder). These principled people helped make us who we are today.

Folks feel so much gratitude that we were able to help them as much as we did, when their lives were ending. It brought us such a strong dose of sobriety about the precious value of a human life—and more connection than we ever might have felt had we not shared these experiences.

Another dear early Earthaven member, David Tree Malpass, also passed away last year. Tree helped design the Council Hall, and participated in much community planning from the very beginning. When feeling light-hearted, I say they left to work things out for us in eternity.

(remembering, from left to right: Kimchi Rylander, Susan (Suchi) Lathrop), Chuck Marsh, David Tree Malpass.

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Diana Leafe Christian, international author, workshop leader, and advocate for ecovillages, community living, and the Sociocracy governance method, receives the Fellowship for Intentional Community’s (FIC) 2018 Geoph Kozeny Communitarian Award at the West Coast Communities Conference in San Diego in September of this year.

The Kozeny Award honors communitarians for a lifetime of work in the communities movement: as networkers, in media relations, as community builders, and/or providing leadership in the communities movement. Diana’s contributions were recognized in all areas, “…sometimes by taking a leading role,” writes the FIC, “and sometimes by providing invaluable assistance to others working in those areas.” (Communities, Fall 2017)

above: Diana teaching at Findhorn.

Diana and her Mom, Rosetta Neff (who passed away last May at 100), joined Earthaven in 2002. Diana has played major roles in our Promotions and Membership Committees and introduced us to decision-making practices used in other communities, including Sociocracy and the N St. Consensus Method (a variation of which we now use).

Diana became the editor of Communities in 1993, networking, editing and writing about community living for 14 years. Her book, Creating a Life Together, is a seminal reference for people interested in starting communities. Her second book Finding Community, is now a core resource for people looking for a community to join.

Diana travels internationally, teaching workshops on starting successful new ecovillages and on Sociocracy, and consulting with communities long established and those just starting out. We’re blessed to have her here the rest of the year!

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When you fall in love with community-mates, over time and through all kinds of circumstances, you develop a relationship very much like family. When they leave or die, it’s an amazing loss and also a treasure trove of meaningful connection and nourishing memory. We can’t say enough about them, but we try….

Susan (Suchi) Lathrop lived and created sacred space at Earthaven for fourteen years, and was stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), a disabling encroachment on natural body movement, not long after her best friend, Kimchi Rylander, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It’s hard for us to accept and yet when it faces you square on, it challenges us to rise to the situation and lift things to their highest level. And rise we did, with Kimchi (who died in February) and again with Suchi.

Both women wanted to live their final days in the community they loved and so a large contingent of Earthaven members came together to do whatever was necessary to see these beloved women through their end-of-life transitions.

right: Suchi & Kimchi greet firefighters last year.

The following obituary is about Suchi’s life within and beyond Earthaven.

———————————————–

Susan (aka Suchi) Lathrop passed away in peace at home in Earthaven Ecovillage on May 17, surrounded by beloved friends. She had been suffering with a quickly declining condition of ALS. A wake and funeral were also held at Earthaven.

Suchi was a beloved leader in her community, not just at Earthaven, but in and around Asheville. She was outspoken and generous, and was the innovator of many community functions that have since become Earthaven traditions, including the weekly Coffee & Trade event on Tuesday mornings. Her guidance and determination made a huge difference! She was the Earthaven Firekeeper (like a President, only more so), and had a voice in many key committees over the years.

right: Suchi at the Trading Post.

As a core member of the Hut Hamlet neighborhood, Suchi co-owned the Tribal Condo with her beloved friend, Kimchi Rylander, for over a decade. She was an ardent gardener and filled her greenhouse with food all year round.

Suchi grew up in upstate New York, focusing her academic studies in psychology and library science. She has been a dedicated supporter of the Palestinian cause in Israel, and a leading member of the local Friends group in bringing attention to the issues. She was also Clerk of the Black Mountain Friends Meeting for several years.

Suchi’s hope is that people who want to honor her life donate a day or two of volunteer support to local non-profits in her name and the name of her community, Earthaven.

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Kimchi Rylander came into my life 10 years ago at the Southeastern Permaculture gathering in Celo, NC. In the last year of her life, we were on “The Divine Feminine” committee for the gathering and when we met she would share her perspective, saying, “This is not ‘my cancer,’ this is ‘our cancer’ and what is playing out in my body is what is being done to our momma Earth!”

When she received the terminal diagnosis, she said, “I’m dying and the cancer has spread throughout my body. So I want to work on dying well and supporting a positive death-ing culture.” I still remember feeling such awe and inspiration, mixed with sadness and curiosity.

A few other examples of how Kimchi held up the light of her wildly creative heart in the face of death and said, “I’m going out with style!”:

– She decided to have a “give-away” because it was so important to her to share the stories of each precious object that might live beyond her.

– She created a “Guess which day Kimchi will croak?!” raffle, the proceeds going towards positive education about death.

I was blessed to be a part of a loving transition team as a death doula during her final weeks at Earthaven. As the cancer took over her body, she spoke much less, and when she did speak it was softer and slower. During one visit with friends she said, “It’s all about love; really, it’s all about love.” She was visited by a river of loved ones who were eager to share their gratitude and love with her.

Kimchi found comfort in being able to walk on her own until the day before her transition. She also wanted to send out a community voicemail I wrote down for her: “It’s time for me to go, and I’ve had a wonderful time in this play box of life. I was happy to do things together, but I have new projects awaiting me….”

left: Kimchi’s funeral procession.

Kimchi passed surrounded by loving witnesses, holding her sister Bridget’s hand. Her body was planted back into the Earth she loved so much on the exact day of her 56th birthday. In her honor, a song group continues to gather to send support during the 9-month Gestation Period some believe it takes to die and travel to the Land of the Ancestors.

above: At Kimchi’s orchard gravesite.

May we long remember the ways Kimchi challenged and inspired us, feel more alive as we remember the unique expression of her life, and sing gratefully and often in her memory.

Earthaven neighbor Sarah Anne Amazon is a dedicated meditator who loves to attend extended retreats, including with prisoners, and to support the little people for a better world. She also loves Nature, cooking, dancing, singing and NVC.

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The annual parade down Another Way stopped to celebrate completion of the stone-and-crystal side walls built on the Second Bridge by Travis and Gaspar. Birthday cake at the White Owl and, for many who didn’t know Founder Valerie Naiman, her fascinating story of life on the way to Earthaven and beyond

Reflecting on these 22 years, members offered these sentiments and wishes:

A Great Dream

Dear Earthaven,

I remember conversations of the dream of you before you were born. From the news of your birth I packed my bags to live closer.  I have been nourished deeply as I’ve witnessed the ups and downs of your growing maturity, and a freedom that has a life of its own. I give thanks for your influence on my life and am forever grateful to be a member of the tribe.                                               Love, Tara

The Joy of Participation

Earthaven is the place where my dreams about community have been coming true in community, full of delicious gifts and profound challenges to my way of living and being. What a blessing!   ~ Arjuna

(left) Tara and Arjuna, friends since ’97.

Commitment to Vision

Living at Earthaven 22 years ago, in a 1967 Airstream, when there was only a dilapidated hunting cabin and an outhouse, was a commitment to vision. Members began to camp and we built a tiny prototype Council Hall with a post & beam yurt frame, and an iron ring for the center of the roof symbolizing our union. Last year the community disassembled the old frame and mud walls, and I was thrilled and grateful to be presented with the ring on Founding Day this year. The ring and I both have a few dents and rough spots, but are strong and re-purposing. ~ Valerie

(right) Valerie gets her ring back on Founding Day.

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Many of her closest friends and neighbors from Earthaven visited her at the hospice. Her daughter, Diana Leafe Christian, also an Earthaven member, and her son John Christian, from California, lived with Rosetta at the hospice during her several weeks’ stay.

A “Celebration of Rosetta’s Life” memorial was held at Andy and Julie’s house, next door to where Rosetta lived. Diana showed slides of Rosetta’s long life and her years working for United Airlines; living in Honolulu; her many travels to Europe, Asia, and Africa after she retired; and the introduction during her lifetime of talking movies, television, computers, and cell phones.

People shared fond stories of Rosetta as a friend and neighbor, recalling how extraordinarily healthy and functional she remained even until her late 90s. Many recalled how mentally sharp she was, her sense of humor, and her kindness.

Allie led us in singing “Pachamama, I’m Coming Home,” and then we sang “Rosetta, you are beautiful, Rosetta, you are strong….”

We ended by dancing to one of Rosetta’s favorite songs from the Big Band era— Glenn Miller’s In the Mood. Everyone agrees, “We’ll miss you, Rosetta.”

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