Dr. Hew Len's Later Life and Death: What's Known

Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len died on January 15, 2022, according to a memorial notice from the organization that teaches Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono. He had retired from teaching several years earlier. Beyond the basic facts below, very little about his final years has been made public, and we have tried to separate what is documented from what is simply repeated online.

If you searched for whether Dr. Hew Len is still alive, how he died, or whether his story is true, this page gives you the clearest answers we could find, along with where each fact comes from.

The short answer

• Is Dr. Hew Len still alive? No. He died on January 15, 2022.
• How old was he? He was born in April 1939, which made him 82 at the time of his death.
• What was the cause of death? One memorial notice describes his passing as peaceful and from natural causes. No more specific cause has been made public, and we have not found any reliable source that gives one.
• When did he stop teaching? Memorial notices say he fully retired from teaching in the mid-2010s. Two versions of the notice give different years, 2015 and 2016.
• Is his story true? His background and his role in Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono are well documented. The famous hospital story is a separate question, which we cover in its own article.

Where these facts come from

When Dr. Hew Len died, the main announcement came from IZI LLC, the organization that offers Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono (SITH) classes. It published a memorial notice, signed by its coordinators and president, on the official SITH website. A version of the same notice also appears on Ho'oponopono Asia, a regional SITH site.

Joe Vitale, who co-wrote Zero Limits (2007) with Dr. Hew Len, shared the news on social media and published a short tribute on his own blog a few days later, giving the same date.

We were not able to find a newspaper obituary. That is why this page relies on the memorial notice and on Joe Vitale's announcement, and why we flag where details differ.

His death in January 2022

According to the memorial notice, Dr. Hew Len died on January 15, 2022, at 5:10 in the evening, California time. The notice does not name a city, hospital or other location, so we cannot say more about where he died than that time reference.

What was the cause of death?

This is one of the most common questions people search, and the honest answer is that no specific cause has been published. The version of the memorial notice on Ho'oponopono Asia says he passed peacefully of natural causes at the age of 82. The version on the official SITH site does not mention a cause at all.

We have not found any reliable report of an illness, accident or other specific cause. You may see claims online that go further than this. Unless they point to a credible source, we would treat them as speculation.

How old was he?

The memorial notice says he was born in April 1939. That would make him 82 when he died, which matches the age given in the Ho'oponopono Asia version. Some book and audiobook listings show a different birth year. We are going with the date in the memorial notice, since it comes from the organization closest to him.

How the news was shared

The memorial notice asked people not to send flowers or gifts, and instead invited donations to The Foundation of I, Inc. (Freedom of the Cosmos), the nonprofit founded by Morrnah Simeona. The notice also mentions that he was survived by his family, including children and grandchildren.

Joe Vitale's announcement described Dr. Hew Len as the man who taught him Ho'oponopono and as his co-author. In keeping with the language of SITH, he wrote that Dr. Hew Len had returned to Peace of I.

His later life and work

Teaching after Morrnah Simeona

Dr. Hew Len met Morrnah Simeona in 1982, trained as a SITH instructor, and taught alongside her in many countries. After she died in 1992, the memorial notice says he returned to Hawaii and carried on the work, teaching SITH classes and giving lectures and interviews around the world. The countries listed include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and many in Europe.

For the method he taught, see Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono (SITH) explained.

Zero Limits and wider attention

His later years overlapped with the period when Ho'oponopono reached its largest audience. Zero Limits, which he co-wrote with Joe Vitale, introduced SITH and the four phrases to readers who had never heard of either. For an overview of the book, read our Zero Limits summary.

Retirement

Both versions of the memorial notice say he fully retired from teaching, but they disagree on the year. The official SITH site says 2015, while the Ho'oponopono Asia version says 2016. We have not found anything that settles which is right, so the safest summary is that he retired in the mid-2010s.

Very little has been made public about his life between retirement and his death. We have not found reliable reports about his health, his day-to-day life, or where he lived during those years, and we have chosen not to repeat secondhand claims.

Is the Dr. Hew Len story true?

People often ask this after learning that he has died. It helps to split the question in two.

His background is documented. The memorial notice describes him growing up on the Leeward Coast of Oahu, graduating from Kamehameha Schools, earning a psychology degree from the University of Colorado, a master's degree in special education from the University of Utah, and a doctorate from the University of Iowa, and then working as a psychologist. His long association with Morrnah Simeona and his co-authorship of Zero Limits are also well established.

The hospital story is less certain. The famous account of his work on a ward at Hawaii State Hospital comes mainly from his own telling and from people who repeated it. It has not been independently documented. We look at what can and cannot be verified in the Dr. Hew Len Hawaii State Hospital story.

For a fuller account of his life, his teacher and his main ideas, see who was Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len?

A note on what we left out

Online, you will find plenty of dramatic details about his final years and his death. We have only included what we could trace to the memorial notice or to Joe Vitale's announcement. Where those sources disagree, we have said so. Where they are silent, we have said that too, rather than filling in gaps.

Frequently asked questions

Is Dr. Hew Len still alive?

No. According to the memorial notice from the SITH organization, he died on January 15, 2022.

What did Dr. Hew Len die of?

No specific cause has been made public. One version of the memorial notice says he died peacefully of natural causes. We have not found any reliable source that says more.

How old was Dr. Hew Len when he died?

He was 82. The memorial notice gives his birth as April 1939.

When did Dr. Hew Len retire?

In the mid-2010s. Versions of the memorial notice give both 2015 and 2016.

Is Ho'oponopono still taught after his death?

Yes. Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono classes continue to be offered through the organization that published his memorial notice, and the four phrases remain widely practiced on their own.

Keep the practice going

Dr. Hew Len spent decades teaching that you do not have to understand everything to begin cleaning. If you would like to try the practice he taught, our free Ho'oponopono Cleaning Guide walks you through the four phrases and a simple daily practice.