Ezekiel Coyote Heter-Wegscheider

1993 - 2022

Ezekiel Coyote Heter-Wegscheider

Buckland, MA - Ezekiel Coyote Heter-Wegscheider was born October 21, 1993, in Topeka, Kansas, to Jane Beatrice Wegscheider and Steve Heter. He was a magical and expressive child, overflowing with curiosity and creativity. His early years were spent under big skies, near tallgrass prairie, and in the artistic and progressive community of Lawrence, KS. He moved east with his mother in 2000, and grew up with her among a strong community of friends in the hills of western Massachusetts. He attended schools in Heath, Charlemont and Greenfield. He also attended wilderness programs and tried homeschooling. He got his GED at 17.

Ezekiel had a keen intelligence, a strong social conscience and a passion for freedom. Like his parents, he was an artist and a maker. He drew, he played music on his body, he wrote poems and delighted in the outdoor world. He made surprising creations from ephemera: bits and pieces of found paper and objects combined with jewels, "trash" and natural materials, often giving them away as gifts. He gave a TEDx talk in Shelburne Falls in 2012 entitled "Infinite Everything" in which he explored the world of fractals and drew implications for how each of us might confront our own limitations. He wanted to live without compromises and for the last 10 years of his life, he was faithful to that intention, even while increasingly encumbered by addiction. Those who spent time with Zeek knew that his sweet smile, generous spirit and wisdom lived equally with his anger and confusion. He was a bright light who knew darkness.

Ezekiel was a seeker. He was interested in shamanism. He meditated and sought enlightenment. He began using drugs as a way to expand his consciousness and later as a way to self-medicate and cope with his pain. He did not believe in any sort of hierarchy and decided early on to live outside the strictures of society. He identified as a traveler: someone who roamed the country with few possessions, no money and a readiness to befriend other travelers. He found people like himself everywhere he went as he wandered from coast to coast, from New Mexico to Maine, and Connecticut to California. He rode bicycles, hitchhiked, caught trains, and walked. He was always moving. He longed for a world where no one was at the bottom, where equality was practiced and where sharing was the highest good. That was his ethic, whether it was food from a dumpster, or the T-shirt he'd just been given.

Ezekiel was suspicious of authority and all forms of pretense. He hated being looked down upon and he made a point of looking out for others who were treated as second class citizens. He sometimes identified as having a mental illness. He wrestled with the stigma and rejected being labeled. He had relationships with wonderers and healers, and with his and his mother's many friends, spread out across the country. His traveler network was extensive. His friends speak of him as caring, committed and courageous. He never chose to settle down.

Ezekiel died on December 10, 2022. He was 29 years old. He embodied the struggle faced by many who do not have an obvious place in our society, those at the edges, those who choose a different way or find it imposed upon them. Ezekiel extended a welcome to so many who needed one. We who love him, trust that he has found welcome himself. There will be a service to celebrate his life on April 15th, at the Charlemont Federated Church at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Art Garden (theartgarden.org).