Ocha’ni Lele Stuart Myers has passed away

Painting by: Katelan Foisy https://www.katelanfoisy.com/

We are deeply saddened to report the sudden passing of author Ócha’ni Lele, the spiritual and pen name of B. Stuart Myers, on November 27, 2019.

Although he wasn’t born into the Lucumí faith (known to some as Santeria), he was called to it and became a passionate teacher and practitioner with a devoted following. All of us at Inner Traditions enjoyed working with him. His humor, love of animals, and depth of expertise were appreciated by every staff member he connected with. He was the author of 7 books with us: The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination (2000), Obí: Oracle of Cuban Santería (2001), The Teachings of the Santería Gods (2010), Diloggún Tales of the Natural World (2011), Sacrificial Ceremonies of Santería (2012), Osogbo: Speaking to the Spirits of Misfortune (2014), and his magnus opus, The Diloggún (2003), a comprehensive 624-page hardcover reference guide to Santería’s holiest divination system.

His longtime in-house project editor, Laura, says, “I counted him among my most favorite authors to work with. What a dear man he was and what a dedicated worker.

“I remember his first project with us – The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination – which came out almost 20 years ago. The copy editor had covered the first 60 pages of the manuscript with queries because Stuart (I called him Stuart in our correspondence) had jumped right into the thick of the subject in his introduction and he was using an awful lot of unfamiliar language that she found confusing. This was back in the days when we did the line edits in pencil on hard copy. When he sent his edit review responses back Stuart told me to ignore some rude comments that he had scribbled in the margins (and endeavored to cross out) because the editor's questions had frustrated him at first. But then he had realized that he really did need to answer the questions and, indeed, to rewrite the entire introduction so that beginners would be able to follow it. And he did just that -- in the week between Christmas and New Year’s! I know he was pulling all-nighters and doing his nursing shifts at the hospital and smoking like a chimney as he wrote. But what a beautiful job he did; the new introduction was delivered right on schedule and it read like a dream. And then in the acknowledgments for his next three books he had the grace to thank that line editor and to credit her with teaching him how to write. . . . He was a fine and caring person and a wonderful letter writer who took a genuine interest in everyone he met, including me. I will miss him.”

We certainly all echo Laura’s sentiments about Ócha’ni’s caring personality and his dedication to his work. In the Lucumí tradition it is believed that the aché, the life force energy of an individual, never dies. No matter what each of us individually believes, it is clear that Ócha’ni’s aché will live on through his beautiful books as well as his cherished dog Onyx and his beloved godchildren.

Igbae bayen torum Ócha’ni Lele Stuart Myers. We will miss you.