Editing Timothy Leary (section)

== Death ==
[[File:Timothy Leary with Ram Dass (Richard Alpert).jpg|thumb|Timothy Leary reuniting with Ram Dass five days before his death]]

In January 1995, Leary was diagnosed with inoperable [[prostate cancer]].{{sfnp|Higgs|2006|p=258}} He then notified [[Ram Dass]] and other old friends and began the process of directed dying, which he termed "designer dying".<ref name="Mansnerus1995">{{cite news |last=Mansnerus |first=Laura |title=Conversations/Timothy Leary; At Death's Door, the Message Is Tune In, Turn On, Drop In |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/26/weekinreview/conversations-timothy-leary-death-s-door-message-tune-turn-drop.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 26, 1995 |access-date=February 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216204803/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/26/weekinreview/conversations-timothy-leary-death-s-door-message-tune-turn-drop.html |archive-date=February 16, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Leary did not reveal the condition to the press at that time, but did so after [[Jerry Garcia]]'s death in August.<ref name="Mansnerus1995"/> Leary and Ram Dass reunited before Leary's death in May 1996, as seen in the documentary film ''[[Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary]]''.<ref name="Dying to Know">{{cite web |title=Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2516424/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt |website=IMDb |date = August 26, 2016|access-date=February 16, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Turan2016">{{cite news |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |title='Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary' documents two men and their trip of a lifetime |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-dying-to-know-review-20160613-snap-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=June 16, 2016 |access-date=February 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217202934/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-dying-to-know-review-20160613-snap-story.html |archive-date=February 17, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leary's last book was ''Chaos & Cyber Culture'', published in 1994. In it he wrote: "The time has come to talk cheerfully and joke sassily about personal responsibility for managing the dying process."<ref name="Mansnerus1995"/> His book ''Design for Dying'', which tried to give a new perspective on death and dying, was published posthumously.<ref name="Mitchell1997">{{cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Chris |title=Timothy Leary: ''Design For Dying'' |url=https://www.spikemagazine.com/1097dead.php |publisher=Spike Magazine |date=October 1, 1997 |access-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209112236/http://www.spikemagazine.com/1097dead.php |archive-date=December 9, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Leary wrote about his belief that death is "a merging with the entire life process".<ref name="Mitchell1997"/>

His website team, led by Chris Graves, updated his website on a daily basis as a proto-[[blog]].<ref name="Mansnerus1995"/> The website noted his daily intake of various illicit and legal chemical substances, with a predilection for [[nitrous oxide]], LSD and other psychedelic drugs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rothstein |first1=Edward |title=Tuning In to Timothy Leary |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/techcol/0429techcol.html |website=www.archives.nytimes.com |access-date=January 23, 2021 |date=April 29, 1996}}</ref> He was also noted for his trademark "Leary Biscuit", a [[cannabis edible]] consisting of a snack cracker with cheese and a small marijuana bud, briefly microwaved.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lei |first1=Richard |title=Online, In Pain, The Apostle of Acid Prepares To Truly Drop Out |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/03/10/on-line-in-pain-the-apostle-of-acid-prepares-to-truly-drop-out/75a61716-d7c6-4431-b6a7-38654a6b1e31/ |newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=January 23, 2021 |date=March 10, 1996}}</ref> At his request, his sterile house was redecorated by the staff with an array of surreal ornamentation.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} In his final months, thousands of visitors, well-wishers and old friends visited him in his California home.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} Until his last weeks, he gave many interviews discussing his new philosophy of embracing death.<ref name="Mitchell1997"/>

[[File:EtoylearyJI1.jpg|thumb|[[Etoy]] agents with mortal remains of Timothy Leary in 2007]]

Leary was reportedly excited for a number of years by the possibility of freezing his body in [[Cryonics|cryonic suspension]], and he announced in September 1988 that he had signed up with [[Alcor Life Extension Foundation|Alcor]] for such treatment after having appeared at Alcor's grand opening the year before.<ref name="alcor 1988">{{cite news |last=Darwin |first=Mike |title=Dr. Leary Joins Up... |date=September 1988 |publisher=Alcor Life Extension Foundation |url=http://www.alcor.org/cryonics/cryonics8809.txt |access-date=August 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520015759/http://www.alcor.org/cryonics/cryonics8809.txt |archive-date=May 20, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> He did not believe he would be resurrected in the future, but did believe that cryonics had important possibilities, even though he thought it had only "one chance in a thousand".<ref name="alcor 1988"/> He called it his "duty as a futurist", helped publicize the process and hoped that it would work for his children and grandchildren if not for him, although he said that he was "lighthearted" about it.<ref name="alcor 1988"/> He was connected with two cryonic organizations—first Alcor and then CryoCare—one of which delivered a cryonic tank to his house in the months before his death. Leary initially announced that he would freeze his entire body, but due to lack of funds decided to freeze his head only.<ref name="Coleman2009"/><ref name="Mansnerus1995"/> Three weeks before his death, Leary changed his mind again and generally refused cryopreservation from both Alcor and CryoCare.<ref name="The Strange Case">{{cite web |last=Platt |first= Charles |title=The Strange Case of Timothy Leary |publisher=CryoCare Report |date=July 1996 |url=http://www.cryocare.org/index.cgi?subdir=&url=ccrpt8.html#LEARY|access-date=2024-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221110558/http://www.cryocare.org/index.cgi?subdir=&url=ccrpt8.html#LEARY |archive-date=2024-02-21 |url-status=live}}</ref> He requested that his body be cremated, with his ashes scattered in space.<ref name="Coleman2009"/>

Leary died aged 75 on May 31, 1996. His death was videotaped for posterity at his request by Denis Berry and Joey Cavella, capturing his final words.<ref name="Coleman2009"/> Berry was the trustee of Leary's archives, and Cavella had filmed Leary during his later years.<ref name="Coleman2009"/> According to his son Zachary, during his final moments, he clenched his fist and said: "Why?", then, unclenching his fist, said: "Why not?". He uttered the phrase repeatedly, in different intonations, and died soon after. His last word, according to Zach, was "beautiful".{{sfnp|Leary|n.d.}}

The film ''Timothy Leary's Dead'' (1996) contains a simulated sequence in which he allows his bodily functions to be suspended for the purposes of cryonic preservation. His head is removed and placed on ice. The film ends with a sequence showing the creation of the artificial head used in the film.

Seven grams (¼ oz) of Leary's ashes were arranged by his friend at [[Celestis]] to be [[Space burial|buried in space]] aboard a rocket carrying the remains of 23 others, including ''[[Star Trek]]'' creator [[Gene Roddenberry]], space colonization advocate Gerard O'Neill and German-American rocket engineer [[Krafft Ehricke]]. A [[Pegasus rocket]] containing their remains was launched on April 21, 1997, and remained in orbit for six years until it burned up in the atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news |last=Simons |first=Marlise |title=A Final Turn-On Lifts Timothy Leary Off |date=April 22, 1997 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/22/world/a-final-turn-on-lifts-timothy-leary-off.html |access-date=May 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630021355/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/22/world/a-final-turn-on-lifts-timothy-leary-off.html |archive-date=June 30, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leary's ashes were given to close friends and family. In 2015, Susan Sarandon brought some of his ashes to the [[Burning Man]] festival in [[Black Rock City]], [[Nevada]], and put them into an art installation there. The ashes were burned along with the installation on September 6, 2015.<ref name="sarandon ashes">{{cite magazine |last=Kimble |first=Lindsay |title=Susan Sarandon Takes the Ashes of Timothy Leary to Burning Man |url=http://www.people.com/article/susan-sarandon-brings-timothy-leary-ashes-burning-man |date=September 7, 2015 |magazine=People |access-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910020713/http://www.people.com/article/susan-sarandon-brings-timothy-leary-ashes-burning-man |archive-date=September 10, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>