It is with great sadness that we farewell Edgar Cahn, the grandfather of Time Banking and a generous, inspiring man.

Edgar would always ask, “Is there something that you’d like to make happen? What do you want to create? Where do we go from here?”

These questions will sound familiar to many of us who had the privilege of crossing paths with him.

Every day, Edgar made a conscious decision to pursue his passion for justice. He recognised that same yearning for justice in the people he met – their desire to take action for a better world. One of his favourite sayings was that the way to radical transformation is by setting in motion things you do not control.

With that visionary spirit, he either set in motion or played an active role in the following (in chronological order):

A federally funded national system of legal services for the poor, the Legal Services Corporation

Fundamental reforms to a costly federal food program that allowed hunger to continue while the coffers of well-connected farmers grew fat

The push by Native American tribes to hold on to their sovereignty as nations within the nation

A new approach to legal education, adopted by law schools nationwide and first implemented by the Antioch School of Law, the school Edgar co-founded that is now the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law

Timebanking, a new way of linking untapped social capacity to unmet social needs, enabling communities to come together to promote trust, reciprocity, and citizen engagement

And yes, a magical garden that was more than “just a garden.” Each year, it was a story – a story of investment, emergence, flowering, and growth.

Edgar Cahn passed away on the morning of January 23, 2022, at age 86, leaving behind an immense legacy of revolutionary change created by planting seeds wherever his heart, mind, and soul were invested.

He embodied the highest ideals of mobilising communities to come together, express their strengths, restore mutual care, and build lives of joy and dignity for all.

We were honoured to host Edgar in Aotearoa in 2015 to celebrate the 10th birthday of the Lyttelton Timebank, the first timebank in New Zealand.

Pictured is Edgar with his wife, Christine Gray, outside TimeBank HQ, their Washington home.