VOYCE DURLING-JONES Voyce Durling-Jones, a native of New Orleans and longtime resident of Santa Fe, died on June 3rd at the age of 87. A dedicated guardian and keeper of bees, Voyce Sensei is survived by four cherished children, seven adored grandchildren, two dear siblings, and a vast community of beloved friends and family, spanning the globe from Santa Fe to Saddle Lake, Monrovia to Sendai. In addition to being an artist, Voyce Sensei was the founder of the Hoshindo Healing Arts Institute in Santa Fe, the Hoshindo Society of the Americas and non-pofit, The Bee Corps. Before moving to Santa Fe in 2002, she was Honorary Consul General of Liberia in New Orleans for over twenty years and created The Grief Path, after the death of her son Sean in 1985. Voyce Sensei was an ardent supporter of the arts and environmental and social justice causes, including protecting indigenous sacred sites. The last thirty years of her life were devoted to the practice and teaching of Hoshindo Japanese Meridian Apitherapy. The first Westerner to be certified as a Hoshindo practitioner in Japan, Voyce Sensei brought this ancient healing art to the U.S. in 1995. As a Hoshindo Master, she trained twenty Hoshindo practitioners in the Americas and Europe. Her life's work was healing those who had lost the hope of good health, using the medicines of the honeybee. There are no words to describe the profundity of this loss to those who hold her dear. Voyce Sensei's life will be celebrated at memorials in Santa Fe and New Orleans. It was her wish that any gifts made in her honor be given to two organizations she considered very important to preserving the environment and protecting the bees: Praising Earth (https://praisingearth.org/sustainers <https://praisingearth.org/sustainers>) and Farmer's Footprint (https://farmersfootprint.us/give <https://farmersfootprint.us/give>).
[New Mexican 6-11-22]