In Memory of Death Cafe's Jon Underwood

Jon Underwood, the founder of Death Cafe, did not pass away. He died suddenly last week from acute promyeloctic leukaemia at the age of 44.
 
It’s an important distinction that Jon would have wanted us all to make; his work with Death Cafe helped reclaim the words ‘death’ and ‘dying’ and placed importance on us all being unafraid of using the actual words and not speaking in euphemisms.
 
Jon believed that in order to fully embrace life and living, we must also embrace death and dying. He brought tens of thousands of people together who, over tea and cake, began to talk openly and honestly about one of the toughest subjects.  

Jon changed the face of the worldwide Death Positive Movement. To date, there have been nearly 5000 Death Cafes in over 50 countries. The impact of his work cannot be overstated. Death is often quoted as being the last taboo and Jon took it back from the brink of hushed conversations behind closed doors and gave it the platform it deserved.
 
We are devastated by his untimely death and are honoured that we were able to call him a friend and colleague. Jon was undoubtedly one of the good guys. He was kind, gentle and genuine while being hugely knowledgeable and an endless source of encouragement and support.
 
Jon was a true gentleman and incredibly humble. He sometimes seemed slightly reluctant to be in the spotlight but that only cemented our understanding of his true humility: he didn’t set up Death Cafe for himself, he did it for society and for the greater good.
 
Thank you, Jon, for single-handedly redesigning the dialogue surrounding death and dying. And thank you for being a warm and generous friend and colleague. Your loss and your legacy are immeasurable.
 
So long Jon, and thanks for all the cake.