John R. Voell, father, author and visionary co-founder of Natural Awakenings Publishing Corporation, has served as a mentor to our family of publishers for 15 years. During Voell’s time with us, the Universe responded to his faithful living of the principle to love God, one’s self and others by providing fertile soil for the big ideas he relished nurturing. His books, Cancer: How to Heal It—How to Prevent It and Cancer Report, as well as his latest development project, United We Can, were just a few of the ways that Voell allowed himself to be an instrument of the Divine in helping humankind.

Voell was passionate about the success of our magazine, pleased and proud that the family of Natural Awakenings franchise publishers, now 90 strong, touches the lives of millions of readers each month. He’s known around here for saying, “I don’t know what your spiritual beliefs are, but I believe that when I leave this world, I’m going to somehow measure my success by those I’ve helped along the way.” Those that knew and worked with him would say that he more than succeeded—he soared.