Difficult News about Jody
May 1, 2023 by Diana -
I’m so sorry to share that Jody passed away last night (see yesterday’s blog post). Physically, she was surrounded by people – in human and chimpanzee form – who loved her deeply. In an even more profound way, she was surrounded by the love from all of you who were thinking of her.
These circumstances of her passing were in stark contrast to the decades she spent as a biomedical research subject, which we outline on her biography page.
It has been such an honor and privilege to have been able to share the last almost fifteen years of Jody’s life through the lens of hope, love, and home at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We made this video about Jody six years ago, and I have watched it multiple times since last night.
Jody was an incredible friend and, in many ways, the center of her social group. After she passed, we were able to give her chimpanzee family the opportunity to be with her body. I imagine that we will be sharing more about this later, as it was beautiful to witness them, in their own ways, say goodbye.
A friend, Thyra Rutter (Arte for Elephants), who I became connected to when she reached out a few years ago about donating her drawing of Jody below, recently recommended Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, No Death, No Fear, which I bought immediately after seeing her post about the book. There are so many lessons within his writing to contemplate.
One is the notion, the reality, of impermanence. He writes, “Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible. Life itself is possible.” He explains the concept of inter-being: because everything is connected, all things are constantly influencing each other and therefore are not separate.
This idea is what I keep thinking about this morning. We will not see Jody in the chimp house today or any day following today. That is the painfully difficult part of grieving. But Jody is not gone. She is within everyone who has known her. Because of this blog, she is present in people far away who have never met her, and people who perhaps today are just meeting her for the first time by reading this. We will greatly miss her physical presence, and we will continue to work to make Jody and all of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary live on. Their existence and their stories are important. Thank you for being a part of her life.
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What a gift from her Creator our Jody was to those who loved her and who will always love her
We will cherish always the beauty of her spirit, her love of life, and the love which she showed to others.
Well said Tobin! ?
I have always dreaded the day when one of the beautiful beings at CSN that we all fell in love with would leave this earth. I am heartbroken as I know many many many others are as well. Jody will always live on in the memories of those who loved and cared for her. I’m sorry to all the caregivers and staff for your loss.
Jody is truly loved and will be missed. It is sad to hear about this.
this news is heartbreaking. i am shocked and so sad. it will be hard not seeing Jody again. 😥
I am heartbroken, and it is hard to see through the streaming tears. :broken_heart:
I was thinking just last week at how horrible and traumatic it would be to lose one. I wish I didn’t have to find out.
May God confort all of you in this really surreal, horrible time.
Luv to all. :blue_heart:
Did they ever find out what happened?
Thank you for bringing this up. Hopefully reviewing the camera footage will show any sign of an accident.
We did immediately review the footage and this did not provide any answers, unfortunately. Where she was found was out of range of our cameras.
I hate to bring this up, but I suppose it’s a part of the life cycle. Will you be doing a necropasy soon?
Thank you Diana for giving us this information. You gave her a wonderful life, please remember that.
My heart is breaking. Love and healing thoughts to all of you for the amazing and compassionate care you provided sweet Jody. She will be missed…
What a joy you were to your caregivers and supporters but most importantly a friend to all your chimp mates. RIP sweet Jody.
This is indeed difficult news Diana. I will miss Jody’s presence, her entertaining harvests were something I always looked forward to. It was so satisfying to witness her joy at the abundance of delicacies in her arms.
I am of a similar mind to Thich naht hanh, in that I beleive we are eternal beings and that death is not the tragedy we often tend to view it as. Jody will be missed even so. My thoughts are with you and her chimp family. RIP Jody.
When I first started following the sanctuary, I thought her a funny-looking little chimp. But as I came to “know” them, I learned to appreciate how photogenic she was, how expressive her face was, the way she communicated her joy and satisfaction with her place and her life at her home, her concern and love for her adoptive family. Thanksgiving will not be the same without her dinosaur groans, and her smile of success carrying the Jamieqeen pumpkin will be missed greatly.
I will miss this absolute sweetheart. I can’t imagine how devastated you all must be. Godspeed, Jojo.
Rest in Peace, Jody. You will never be forgotten, for you were truly loved by your fellow chimps, your caregivers, and all of your supporters. Dor and I were blessed to meet you. My condolences to all of the apes and humans at CSNW. I am so glad you had Sanctuary.
I’m crying………
I am, and I rarely cry
So am I. So are all of us who loved her.
I too am crying this moment with you all.
Me, too, uncontrollably. Something I just don’t do, but is so fitting to be for sweet, precious Jody.
Much love to all of Jody’s family-chimp and human-what an amazing lady who shared her life with us all?
So, so sad. Jody will be missed by all of her family, chimp and human, at the sanctuary and throughout the rest of the world. What a beautiful sketch of her, whoever has it will treasure it always.
“Death Is Nothing at All” by Henry Scott Holland
Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away to the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,
That, we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way
which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word
that it always was.
That’s lovely, Lisa Anne, and very fitting. Thank you for posting that.
Dearest Diana and JB and all of you at the Sanctuary,
I feel such grief at this news. Jody has given all of us such joy, watching her playfulness and her ability to fully inhabit each moment…and that sweet, sweet face.
What I am also feeling is such deep gratitude for all you have done to give Jody and all our chimps a beautiful, peaceful, safe and healthy life of sanctuary. I know you have done all that could have been done to provide the care and support Jody needed.
I guess we knew this day would come…when it was time for a chimp to leave us. But she leaves us having experienced such a wonderful new beginning of safety, healing, respect and vibrant health in a community she obviously loved and enjoyed. No life could ask for more, Dear Ones.
I hope you can find some comfort in knowing you have done all that could be done to turn around Jody’d life and the lives of all of our chimps.
Please know you are loved and appreciated and we are right there with you.
Gratefully,
Joanna Gabriel
I am heartbroken to hear about Jodys passing, but comforted to know she was surrounded by the love of her chimp and human families just as she has been since arriving at her forever home. Thankyou for enabling her to live a wonderful life, and for ensuring her chimp family got to say their goodbyes to her too. Love to you all. xx
I am profoundly saddened by the news of Jody’s passing. There really are no words that seem adequate. I have never met any of the original 7 in person as I have the “Californians” but I feel I have gotten to know them and live them through all of your blogs and videos. My heart aches but I find extreme comfort in the knowledge of the time she spent with you all. She is one of the lucky ones who found sanctuary and a family, bith chimp and human who truly loved her and let her live her life with choice and dignity… a huge heartfelt hug to all…
RIP Jody … always in our hearts :star:?:two_hearts::pray:
It is with tears falling and great sadness that I have to offer my deepest condolences in the loss of beautiful Jody. Her chimpanzee and human family must be devastated at this profound loss, as are all of us who consider ourselves to be your extended family. You are all in my heart and prayers at this most difficult and emotional time. Love and hugs to you all :heart::heart::heart:
There are just no words for this, just a terrible sadness of the loss of dear, beautiful Jody. I am just so thankful that the last several years of her life were filled with comfort, happiness, her chimp friends, wonderful food..especially the produce she so dearly loved and most of all the deep and profound care and love you her caregivers gave to her. I hope you will all find some comfort knowing that you made her life so, so much better. She will be forever missed. Love to you all. Chris & Dave.
So heartbroken to hear about sweet Jody. I’m really at a loss of words of comfort at the moment. I’m so glad to have enjoyed the last few years of her life from afar. Praying for all the broken hearts today.
Im so very sorry to hear about the passing of Jody, she was such a big character. so sorry for the primare care staff who cared for her. You all must feel extremel sad! Goodness knows how her fellow housmates feel! So very sorry! :purple_heart::flag_gb:
so very sad, tears flowing. but so happy you gave her such a wonderful life.
Writing this through tears. Feeling devastated and heartbroken for all of the caregivers, as well as all of the chimps. I’m so grateful and appreciative that this sanctuary exists, and that Jody received so much love and wonderful care while she lived there. I’m happy to know that the chimps were able to spend time with her after she passed. My heart goes out to all of you at the sanctuary, both human and chimp. Thank you for loving these wonderful animals, and making the rest of their lives the best it can be. :broken_heart::broken_heart::broken_heart::broken_heart::broken_heart:
My heart is breaking. May sweet Jody rest in love and light.
It is impossibke to imagine the sorrow that everyone at CSNW must be feeling now. A blessed soul has left this earth but will never leave out hearts. Let us all celebrate the fun. loving moments of her life in our memories to help us through our grief.
My heart is breaking. I send everyone at the sanctuary my deepest condolences. Jody rests with the angels.
How terribly sad this is. I will be thinking of you all as you process this.
I am so very sorry, and shocked really, to read that our sweet Jody has passed on.
You all must be so heartbroken; I know I am.
And it is a very good thing that her family was by her side, that must have been very comforting for her.
Glad to read that her chimp family got to say goodbye to her; that must have been very touching to wisness.
Would there be a most beautiful spot on the property for her to lay in eternal rest ? (I do hope there is not a law that prohibbits that!).
I wish humans an chimpanzees and extended family love and strength to deal with this great loss.
And know that she has had the best life for the last 15 years in your care.
Lots of love to all of you.
I am so sorry. She has got enchanting eyes, curious and full of light. she is one of so few animals who had the rare fortune to meet the compassionate side of the humane race and she knew happiness that gew of her siblings ever know.
Let Her Memory be blessed – yehi zichra baruch
Yisgadal………
I have been praying that this news would not come but sadly it has. To all at the Sanctuary, please accept our deepest sympathy for the loss of dear sweet Jody. I can’t imagine how you are all feeling, when I am mourning the loss of someone whom I never met, but still love and feel as if they are family.
I know we are all grieving in our own ways but thank you to all of you amazing people at the sanctuary for doing what you do every day to make these chimpanzees and bovines lives better. We are all connected through these wonderful beings.
For me, it helped to see the picture of Jody when she arrived at the Sanctuary and how far she came with your love and care. That lifts me up and make me feel thankful for the wonderful years she spent with all of you.
God bless Jody and all of her amazing caregivers, medical staff, family and friends around the world.
I am so sorry to read that Jody Chimpanzee passed, loved and respected by so many. You gave her a new and wonderful life that no one else would have come close to doing. This sweet sweet chimp will be missed by all.
terrible news! condolences to all who knew her and cared for her
Embracing all of you from afar with love and gratitude for giving Jody her sanctuary life. Forever in all the hearts she youched.
It is my birthday today. Not the news I wanted to hear. As with the other injuries in her group I expected that she would have recovered. What a blessing that Jody spent to so many years being loved with her own kind and the humans that cared so much for her and gave her the quality of life, dignity and love she so deserved. Rest in peace beautiful Jody and after crossing the bridge you’ll meet your mother and swing and play in the trees as you were meant to. Goodbye sweet girl..
Last night I shed tears of hope. Now I am shedding them in honor of Jody’s life. Through the horrors of the inhumane labs to birthing her many children (some of whom have at least found homes in other sanctuaries), and finally, finally home for the rest of her life at CSNW where she had years of healing and happiness, if I might anthropomorphize. I grieve with her fellow chimpanzees, with Diana, J.B., the caretakers and volunteers, supporters and all who love and appreciate this very special place.
I know that many tears are falling today along with mine. I am happy that the other chimps had a chance to be with Jody and grieve in their own way. Jodie has always had a special place in my heart knowing that nine of her babies were taken from her. I know the pain of losing a child, even an adult child.
Diana and J.B., I know how heartbreaking this must be for you and all of the staff at the Sanctuary. Love to you all.
I am so heartbroken for your staff and the chimp family. This is the hard part for all of us who fall in love with these beautiful beings. I hope Jody’s chimp family will be ok. Hugs to all of you! :purple_heart:
My heart is breaking and I cannot control my tears. To Diana, JB and the rest of the wonderful team, I’m so sorry for your loss of sweet Jody. She had such a wonderful life for the past 15 years at CSNW. She definitely made herself comfy in all of our hearts. I loved her so much. If I was a sculptor, I’d make a beautiful piece that would represent Jody to be placed at her favorite outdoor area in her memory. She is free and her soul is in all of us. God Bless all us in our sorrow and in the joyful memories of Jody.
Prayers and Peace to all.
janet
I’m so very sad and my prayers and love go out to all of Jody’s caregivers. I especially want to send love and hugs to her chimp family.I’m sure they are really missing her and they will find comfort from each other and the caregivers. RIP Beautiful Jody:sob::sob::broken_heart::broken_heart:
eloquence be damned….I will miss her greatly………:disappointed_relieved:
I just now learned that Jody passed away, and it is like hearing that a family member died. I am shocked, heartsick, and so, so sad that she is gone. What a hole her passing leaves in the hearts of CSNW and all its supporters. I know that of all her 47 years, the last 15 at CSNW were her best. You folks gave her a wonderful life with tender love and excellent care. Thank you. May Jody’s memory be loved and remembered always. Rest well, sweet girl…
Thank you for introducing her and bringing her into my life. I can’t imagine the pain you, Diana and J.B., and all the caretakers who knew her, are feeling. Like so many others, my tears came immediately and won’t abate. I’m so glad this sweet chimpanzee woman had love and freedom over the past 15 years, and that so many of us had the pleasure of knowing her and supporting her. I know we’ll all miss her terribly,
Farewell, Jody, sweet, beautiful chimpanzee woman.
Sad news. My condolences to you all. You gave her a great place to live out her life.
I am so saddened by Jodys passing. Condolences to all her friends, it must be hard for all of you. Rip Jody. You will :monkey:?:monkey_face:be greatly missed. Love you.
Grief came to you my friend because love came first. Love came first.
~Donna Ashworth
Such sadness to hear this news. For some reason I’ve never thought about any of the chimps lives ending. The sorrow must be overwhelming for everyone at the sanctuary, as well as all of “us”. But how grateful I am that you rescued her and all of the chimps and gave them unending joy every single day!
I am sure her chimpanzee family is in deep mourning, which hurts my heart, but at least they are together to comfort each other..
so very sad. we will miss her so so much!!
So sorry to hear this, but so grateful for you all giving Jody sanctuary for these last 15 years. What a blessing that was for her and continues to be for all at the Sanctuary! I bow deeply to you all, and wish you healing in this time of loss. :purple_heart::pray: