Sandy Cruz, 72, died on August 20, 2021 in Salida, Colorado, at 6:30 pm of a brief illness.

She was born on August 19, 1949 in the heart of New York city. She received an excellent education in the NYC public school system, learning to think clearly and critically from an early age. After 3 years at Harper College (now SUNY Binghamton), she dropped out in 1969, realizing the deep problems in American education, and that American culture was headed in precisely the wrong direction for the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants.

After traveling the country, Sandy found her home in Ward, Colorado--a small hamlet at 9200 feet in the Rocky Mountains--where she built her own house in the form of a crystal. Widely read, she spent decades exploring various spiritual paths, psychological techniques, healing disciplines, and other leading-edge systems in nearby Boulder, Colorado, in search of viable strategies to assist humanity, and especially American Culture, in forging a more sensible and less exploitative way to live on the planet. She actively served her community on its Planning Committee, Audit Committee, Home-Rule Charter Commission, Town Council and more.

Upon discovering permaculture in 1991, she immediately recognized the potential to enable humans to live on the planet in abundance, grace and harmony. She began her permaculture education and founded High Altitude Permaculture in 1992, popularizing the permaculture concept along the Front Range of Colorado and beyond. Sandy taught permaculture independently in dozens of venues, and also taught through Naropa University, Pikes Peak Permaculture, Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, the Volunteers of America in Lewellen Nebraska, the Rocky Mountain School for Botanical Studies, Transition Colorado and many more Institutions. With hundreds of students, she

realized she needed help, and eventually educated and certifi ed 80 new permaculture teachers across North America, mentoring many of them personally over time.

Sandy held a Diploma of Permaculture Design from the International Permaculture Institute in Australia (Bill Mollison), two Diplomas of Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Institute of North America-- in both Education and Site Design--was certifi ed as a Professional Co-Active Coach, and was also certifi ed as a Leader for the Dances of Universal Peace.

In 1999, Sandy and several neighbors made Colorado case law by successfully suing to reclaim possession of the local community church building, which had been seized by a group of fundamentalist Christians.

Serving as her town’s volunteer Director of Parks and OpenSpace for about a decade, Sandy used her permaculture design skills to create an extensive wildlife reserve, reuniting fragmented parcels, buying up inholdings, and protecting more than half the town’s area (approx 270 acres) in perpetuity by working with the US BLM, Great Outdoors, Colorado, private donors and Boulder County Parks and Open Space. For this, she received a Land Conservation Award from the Boulder County Commissioners “In recognition of outstanding efforts towards open space preservation in the Ward Township.” She then used permaculture Analysis to advise the US Forest Service on its proposed revised management plan for the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, Her suggestions had a profound infl uence on their fi nal plan and its implementation.

Sandy was next elected to her town’s Water Board, where she documented extensive corruption in the Water Department’s bookkeeping. This was not appreciated! Although vindicated more than a

decade later, she was savagely attacked at the time and heartbroken, dropped out of the community. Several years later, she relocated to Salida, Colorado with her long-time companion, Eugene (Gene) Tkatschenko.

Very much in love, Sandy and Gene married atop Tenderfoot Mountain in 2014 and worked to establish a permaculture demonstration site at their new Homestead. She began teaching permaculture in the Arc Valley, and was met with some enthusiasm, some resistance, and a large amount of indiff erence. Meanwhile, Sandy and several of her colleagues across the country observed that the burgeoning permaculture movement would benefit from a professional organization to maintain high standards and issue diplomas. So they founded PINA--the Permaculture Institute of North America-- where Sandy served as Vice-President and Co-Chair of the Diploma Program.

Sandy was preceded in death by her parents and her son, Joey, who died at birth.

Sandy regretted that due to increasing fatigue, she was unable to keep up with new friends in Salida, as well as many old friends and family. She served on the Board of the Upper Arkansas Conservation District, loved hiking and backpacking more than almost anything, was an avid gardener. and had a song for just about any occasion.

She is survived by her beloved husband Gene, sister Laurie Hurowitz, step-daughter Tassia Tka , nephew Richard (Grece) Waite, nieces Kate Hurowitz, Lexie Hurowitz, cousin Marisa Hurowitz, cousin Stephan (Margaret) Shapiro, cousin Maria Gilkin, and various other relatives.

Donations on her behalf may be made to the Colorado Permaculture Guild at coloradopermaculture.com.

Sandy Cruz