David Cayley died on June 10, 2026. His heart stopped in the middle of singing a song called “Red Clay Halo” with some music friends, at home.
David was then 80 years old, having already lived a long life doing the work that engrossed him. Even so, his death was a shock.
In 2002, after David's friend and teacher Ivan Illich died, David presented a memorial broadcast. His closing words on behalf of Illich have some overlap with David's own life, and so they are quoted here:
"Fidelity to other persons was Ivan Illich's watchword throughout his life. It was the centre of his teaching and the centre of the way in which he tried to live. His work will now be carried on by those who had the good fortune to be his companions and to share his conversation. I know that I will always have him with me as the most surprising and touching of friends, a friend I would not have known how to wish for.”
Some tributes:
— The inaugural issue of Conspiratio Online was dedicated to David Cartwright Cayley and includes the two last pieces he wrote.
— A piece written for The Front Porch Republic by Michael Sauter in a Memory of David Cayley, on July 20, 2026.
— A blog post published by Luke Savage on the first of July, 2026, remembering David’s life and work.
— To honour his legacy, CBC Radio’s Ideas ran part of a 2006 conversation David had with Irish philosopher Richard Kearney on the space for theism within atheism, and/or atheism within theism.
— The family’s Obituary of David ran in the Globe and Mail in June of 2026.