In Memoriam: Our Founder Pat Cane
Pat spent the last few days of her life doing the work of her heart – multiplying Capacitar practices to people around the world.
As was her usual routine, on November 10, 2025, Pat returned from Japan where she had finished her visit with the Capacitar Japan community. She could have been returning from anywhere in the world; she had logged more than a million miles in air travel!
Pat had been invited to work in Japan by Sr. Kathleen, a Maryknoll sister, whom she met near Lake Galilee while traveling in 2011. When Sr. Kathleen heard that Pat worked with trauma survivors, she immediately began planning how she could bring Pat to Japan to help the survivors of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. This kind of serendipity was a regular occurrence in Pat’s life.
So began another Capacitar community of healing. That time, it was in Japan, just as it had been in Rwanda, Guatemala, Ireland, Israel-Palestine, Indonesia or any of the 45 countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East that eventually became Capacitar International.
Pat had been to Japan regularly since her initial visit and she often shared the wonderful implementation efforts of the Japan Team. This year, she was celebrating how many people were multiplying Capacitar practices with others. As she traveled back to the States, Pat had emailed back to Japan and to the board members about her joy at the success of the Capacitar Japan Team’s work.
So, it was a typical trip for Pat. She saw her old friends, met new folks just starting in Capacitar training, and led meditation and practices. She even had time for her favorite international activity of looking for unusual crafts and gifts to take home. Pat was picked up in California at the San Jose Airport by her usual shuttle driver who drove her to Santa Cruz and delivered her safely to her door. Likely she was dreaming of this wonderful trip as she passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 11, 2025.
Capacitar – the Spanish word for “to empower, to encourage, to bring to life” – was Pat’s life. It was not her work. It was her joy, her commitment, her passion. It grew out of her own discipline of ancient wellness practices such as Tai Chi and acupressure for self-care. Today, Capacitar International is a vibrant presence in over 45 countries, bringing personal and societal relief to help people heal themselves and their world.
Pat Cane’s legacy is the awakened power of grassroots people to transform their families and communities through the application of Capacitar techniques and practices. The Board of Directors of Capacitar International remains committed to Pat’s instructions to keep multiplying the work. The leadership of Capacitar is intentionally diffuse; each country around the world is independent of our base in Santa Cruz and well-positioned to sustain the mission.
Indeed, this was Pat’s vision from the start. She always put healing into the hands of the people. While it is impossible to replace the beautiful, brilliant and gentle gift that Pat Cane was to our world, we know her personal gift to each of us is our confidence that we will continue her legacy.
The Board of Directors is grateful for the many offers of prayer, energy, and support that have poured in from around the world. Needless to say, Pat had prepared us for this eventuality and we are carrying out her guidance to the letter!
While we begin her succession plans for Capacitar International, we ask for your continued support in multiplying our mutual work. Our website is the source of information about events, practices, and country contacts. You can even visit Pat herself leading our practices at https://capacitar.org/capacitar-videos/.
A celebration of life for Dr. Patricia Mathes Cane will be held in Santa Cruz, California on January 26, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. PST and will be streamed live on Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85651622686?pwd=F1g2TfCAJuWjAlSqQs1bIIrlmvvQYi.1
We will also celebrate Pat’s life at our Global Gatherings on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 at 6:00pm PST and Saturday, Feb 21, 2026 at 9:00am PST (Spanish is Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026 at 8:00am PST)
Please register for this Global Gathering at this link: https://app.dvforms.net/api/dv/9v91yo
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to continue Pat’s work at Capacitar International, 2901 Park Avenue, Suite B12, Soquel, CA 95073 or at www.capacitar.org/donate.
For questions and comments, contact our Office office@capacitar.org, Sheila Grady sgrady@capacitar.org, or Joan Condon jcondon@igc.org