The notice of Cancerian's passing, posted September 2004:

To whom it may concern, I have some unfortunate news to report. Cancerian, whose real name was Joseph Lomahaftewa of Hopi/Cochiti Pueblo passed away at 5:37AM on September 10th, 2004 at Presbytarian Hospital in Albuquerque, NM. He died at 37 years of age due to complications arising from advanced Diabetes. He is survived by his wife Sarah Hendrickson/Lomahaftewa and his step-daughter Aurelia. He was an accomplished musician, devoted political activist, and a good friend to all whom his life touched. The majority of his collection was distributed to friends and family members in the Native American Community. I was bequeathed a few of his larger plants which will remain at his wife's home at Cochiti Pueblo. Since I am white, I intend to tend them until his daughter is old enough to take responsibility for them. I will will post a few shots of some of these plants soon. Joseph really cared about his collection and felt strongly about his heritage and identity. As silly as it sounds, I am certain that this website meant a lot to him. I hope that you will all continue to contribute info and pics to his page. He would have liked that. Regretfully Yours, Christopher