She Held Multitudes
A Moment with Dr. Jane Goodall
Ethologist and humanitarian Dr. Jane Goodall passed in her sleep on October 1, 2025, in Los Angeles, California, while on speaking tour. At ninety-one years old, Dr. Jane was working as she had been for decades to inform and inspire local compassionate action throughout the world. Dr. Jane held multitudes and gave us many gifts.
Through her fieldwork, Dr. Jane gave us five insights to chimpanzee behavior, including their ability to make and use tools and their tendencies for combat and compassion. These insights changed the way Western science sees humans and chimps, our closest primate relatives. And over the span of her career, Dr. Jane authored over 27 books for adults and children, most recently The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times with Doug Abrams. At the time of her death, she was working on a book for young children with her close colleague and longtime friend Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado Boulder professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology.
Dr. Jane also gave us the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which supports field research and conservation that helps to alleviate human poverty. JGI’s Roots & Shoots global humanitarian and environmental youth program provides tools and support for local project development and implementation toward improving lives, human and all. Roots & Shoots is included in a list of conservation homework possibilities in Frog Song. Having initially been reprimanded for naming chimpanzees and recognizing their personalities (see The Ten Trusts below), I imagine Dr. Jane thrilled that at three years old Anthony Mandica named Toughie because he was a tough treefrog—the last one of his kind known to be living.
Dr. Jane Goodall with 'Survivor Tree' at the 9/11 memorial site in NYC; Jane Goodall Institute
I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Jane in September 2001 following For Love of Earth, A Celebration of the Earth Charter, the largest in a series of gatherings during which participants could create images or whole books for the Temenos Books Project created by Sally Linder and Cameron Davis. The gathering concluded with the unveiling of the Ark of Hope designed and painted by Linder as a container for the Temenos Books. Two days later, the Twin Towers and Pentagon were struck by airplanes. Linder and others were moved to carry the Ark of Hope 350 miles from Shelburne Farms, Vermont to the United Nations. The Ark of Hope and Temenos Project has since traveled to four continents, engaging the hearts and hands of tens of thousands.
I do not remember the details of my conversation with Dr. Jane on September 9, 2001. I do remember her welcoming presence—a presence that helped me feel as important to her as she is to me. I remember a human acknowledging another human on the deepest level as an equal the way I was raised by my mother among Friends. I imagine Dr. Jane gave this gift of human fellowship to everyone she encountered. The world is blessed that she was able to touch so many with her faith that the human potential for kindness and generosity can persevere.
In my opinion, this deepest seed of human potential planted in multitudes is Dr. Jane’s true legacy sealed in her title of honor: United Nations Messenger of Peace (2002). She held multitudes now released fully to everyone she touched in life as to everyone she will continue to reach through her writing, speaking, and legacy programs. Let us prove Dr. Jane’s faith in humanity and “really get together” to see what we can do for one another and all to let Jane rest in Peace.
“For one thing, I did not think of chimps as ‘study subjects,’ but as individuals, each with his or her own personality. I was learning from them, not only about them.”
—Jane Goodall, The Second Trust: Respect All Life, p. 21
Jane Goodall and Marc Bekoff coauthored The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for the Animals We Love (2002) to show how compassion for all beings creates a healthier world for everyone. You can purchase the book through JGI: The Ten Trusts
In celebration of Dr. Jane’s 90th birthday in 2024, Bekoff and Koen Margodt edited an anthology of reflections and stories written about “Jane-of-all-trades” by those who knew her well. You can read samples from Jane Goodall at 90: Celebrating an Astonishing Lifetime of Science, Advocacy, Humanitarianism, Hope, and Peace in “The Indomitable Jane” at Nautilus and purchase the book through JGI: Jane Goodall at 90