Melanie Joy Grimes, Devoted Homeopath Whose Life Was Marked by Creativity, Dedication, and Entrepreneurship, Passes at the Age of 72

“I was interested in herbs from an early age and when I discovered the potency and the alchemy of homeopathy, I was hooked. I attended 3 years of ND school but did not finish. I mostly learned by reading Kent's Materia Medica and others and studying with Dr. B, [John Bastyr] then attended seminars when they became available.” –Melanie Grimes (e-mail communication, February 2023)

Many of us who are aware of Ms. Grimes' (nee Kornfeld) homeopathic pursuits and contributions may be unaware that:

“In 1973, with a vision and a spirit of enterprise, Melanie founded M.J. Feet—The Birkenstock Store, the inaugural Birkenstock retail presence in the United States. Alongside her husband, the late Charles Grimes, she managed and expanded this chain, specializing in comfort footwear and apparel, for over three and a half decades. Melanie's business acumen and her commitment to quality were the cornerstones of her life.

“Later in her career, Melanie worked as Executive Director for Living Essentials Foundation where she played a vital role in researching and managing advancements in holistic medical care for the founders of 5-Hour Energy Drink.” –Danielle Rudess (Melanie's sister, from a FaceBook post)

“I met Melanie about 20 years ago. It was at her lovely home with her amazing garden! The special guest was Louis Klein, R.S. Hom who had recently published his Clinical Focus Guide to Homeopathic Remedies. It was Spring and I wore my Birkenstocks! Rest in Peace, Melanie.” –Martha Diehl, MEd, CCH (e-mail communication, March 23, 2024)

Ms. Grimes, born October 11, 1951, practiced classical homeopathy since 1973 and received the RSHom(NA) postnominal from the North American Society of Homeopaths (NASH) in 1994. She also received the CCH postnominal from the Council for Homeopathic Certification (CCH). Melanie taught homeopathy in various venues and capacities since 1995 and conducted the first interactive online homeopathy course, called “Homeotalk,” which began in 2004.

After completing her high school education at Rye High School in Rye, New York, United States, she received her Bachelor of Arts from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washingtom, United States. She began her study of homeopathy under the influence of Dr. John Bastyr at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM; now known as National University of Natural Medicine [NUNM]) in 1972: he had generously loaned her his personal copy of Hahnemann's Organon. It is said she read the first three aphorisms over and over and then returned the book to Bastyr; her lifelong passion for homeopathy thus kindled. Interestingly enough, she did not graduate from any naturopathic institution but did serve as a Bastyr University adjunct faculty member later in her career.[[1]]

“Melanie shared much with the homeopathic community locally; she had an open heart as well as an open house. Passionate about homeopathy, she had committed to rereading the Organon every year since 1972. She helped to bring many homeopaths to speak in the Pacific Northwest. One memorable night, after a guest lecture by Anthony Bickley on bowel nosodes, many of the local “Pacific Northwest homeopaths gathered at Melanie's home in Seattle. As we stood together on the patio, she shared stories about her early days in homeopathy, being a patient of Dr. John Bastyr, and the ways he used homeopathy with his clients—often as a clear chronic remedy, sometimes in acute combinations or accompanied by cell salts. She often talked about how much she learned from him clinically. As an aside, she mentioned how she liked gatherings, but the BEST conversations happened with gatherings of homeopaths!” –Karen Allen, CCH (email communication, March 23, 2024)

Over a period of 20 years, she served as editor of several homeopathic journals, for example, assistant and founding editor of the American Homeopath (the organ of NASH) and the North American editor for Homoeopathic Links. Furthermore, she served as the editor of Resonance: Journal of the International Foundation of Homeopathy (IFH) and, from 2001 to 2007, as editor of Simillimum—the organ of the Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians (HANP).

Melanie was involved with the provings of tiger shark liver (Galeocerdo cuvier hepar), meteorite (Fax caliestes allende), tule bluet dragonfly (Enallagma carunculatum), blue green algae (Microcystic aeruginosa), false fern cycad (Stangeria eriopus), Wollemi pine, melatonin, and red oak (Quercus rubra).

“When I first met Melanie at one of our annual conferences back in the 1980s she had just finished editing the proving of sharks liver. Having also done several provings, I know how tiring it can be, but she was as enthusiastic as ever. She was so excited to help in the process of uncovering a new remedy, it seemed to give her energy rather than take any away. Right away I admired her. I believe homeopathy was one of her life's works, and for this she uplifted those she met along the way. Thank you Melanie, until we meet again.” –Steven Olsen ND, DHANP (e-mail communication, February 27, 2024)

Ms. Grimes wrote many articles and, as mentioned, was involved with provings, for example, “Melatonin Proving” (Simillimum, #23, Fall/Winter, 2010, pp. 84–102; “…only three prover notebooks were collected. Usually ten to twenty provers is optimal but, with many repeated symptoms and themes between the provers, the proving picture is clear enough to prescribe the remedy on.”—Melanie Grimes).

Melanie held various administrative positions with NASH and the IFH. She founded the Alethea Book Company to publish books on homeopathy and alternative medicine.

“My imprint, Alethea Book Company, was the publisher of Jeremy Sherr's proving book, Dynamic Provings Vol 1 and 2. I created the modern standard formatting for provings. I also edited and published Anne Shadde's Ozone proving. I also was the international distributor for Wenda O'Reilly's Organon of the Medical Arts, which was the first modern translation, selling to individuals and homeopathic colleges around the world.” –Melanie Grimes.

Grimes produced several monographs including Tiger Shark Liver: An Exploration and the Homeopathic Proving of Galeocerdo Cuvier Hepar (2000) and Dr. John Bastyr: Philosophy and Practice, Including Bastyr's Clinical Homeopathic Materia Medica (2004, 2014):

“There are some fascinating tips, like Arctium lappa for ADHD kids with skin problems, or Arum triphyllum for a sinus discharge (with more details). Serum anguillae to reduce proteinuria. I love these sorts of tips, and go and study the remedies in a larger materia medica before using them. However, I was compelled to choose these as each of the remedy names were spelled incorrectly. It is a shame that this erudite and interesting volume was marred by these rather obvious errors.” –Francis Treuherz, “Bookreview,” American Homoeopath, 2005, p. 122 (“…do not let this shortcoming cause you to distance yourself from this page-turning work.” –J. Yasgur)

“I first met Melanie as a student in one of my Seattle seminars. She immediately stood out as bright and enthusiastic, with a wonderful Jewish sense of humour. We continued to meet at society conferences in the UK and in Dynamis Seattle, where I often stayed with her lovely family. Together we worked, walked, laughed and mostly talked homoeopathy. We visited the Salmon ladder near her home, watching the fish leap the steps on their journey home, and that is where I decided to prove Oncorynchus.

“Melanie edited my first proving book, Dynamis Provings Volume I, and helped me with many other articles, provings and projects. She knew how to work, how to write, how to have fun and how to be funny. She loved homoeopathy, and worked hard at it. Her provings are of the highest standard, reliable and meticulous, and have contributed much to our materia medica. I have successfully prescribed her Meteoritum fax, the Allende meteorite, Quercus ruber the red oak, Galeocerdo cuvier, the tiger shark, Enallagma carunculatum the damselfly and Microcystis aeruginosa, the blue green algae. I have yet to benefit from her Lamprohiza glow worm, Ganoderma fungus and Stangeria grass. These provings represent Melanie well. Melanie was a shooting star, a sturdy oak, a fierce tiger shark, a flirting damselfly, a prolific algae, a glowing persona, and as nourishing as her vitamin provings. She has left a legacy, and she will be missed.” –Jeremy Sherr (Camilla Sherr, FaceBook post, February 24, 2024)

“Melanie also loved the process of planning, conducting, and summarizing provings (including the Allende Meteorite, Tiger shark liver, Tule bluet dragonfly, Blue green algae). She enjoyed seeing the interesting circumstances and synergies that came forward. In the proving of dragonfly (an insect that was native to the Seattle area), she noted that the local provers demonstrated almost no symptoms, as compared to a full array of symptoms in those who did not live where the dragonfly was native. She published the proving of the Allende Meteorite in 2002—the same year that Lionel Milgrom brought Carbon 60 “Buckyballs” to Misha Norland and Peter Fraser suggesting a proving. This seemed to be an interesting synchrony given that meteorites often contain buckyballs. Her provings remain to leave a trail of healing in the wake of Melanie's passing.” –Karen Allen, CCH (e-mail communication, March 23, 2024)

In addition to teaching at Bastyr University, she taught at The Seattle School of Homeopathy, The American Medical College of Homeopathy, and for Andrew Weil's complementary medicine program at the University of Arizona, where she served as guest homeopath on faculty rounds.

I asked Ben, her son, what inspired his mom to pursue health studies outside of the conventional realm. He responded:

“I'm not 100% sure. I do remember a story about my grandmother. When she was young she was having trouble keeping a baby, my mother [Melanie], in the womb. The doctors gave her a pill during her pregnancy which led to a successful birth. This, in turn, impacted my mother's own ability to keep a child to term. Because of my mom's personal experience being negatively impacted by conventional medicine she was dubious of it as she grew up. As far as I know, her first introduction to alternative medicine was in a health food store in Wilmington, Vermont. The philosophy of alternative medicine spoke to her for its subtlety, its approach to curing the cause rather than the symptom and its holistic perspective for well-being.” –Ben Grimes (e-mail communication, March 5, 2024)

She created a postgraduate educational course, “Exploring New Horizons,” which brought prominent Indian homeopaths, for example, Sujit Chatterjee, Sunil Anand, and Nandita Shah, to the United States to teach a 3-year certificate course. Melanie also arranged seminars for Henny Heudens-Mast and Jeremy Sherr.

“My first memory of Melanie was when she brought the Indian homeopaths (Sunil, Sujit, Nandita, Divya) over to teach in about ‘96. I was just out of Bastyr, and it changed my homeopathic life! We had a study group for a while, and at that group is where Melanie recommended Cygnus for my daughter, who was heartbroken over her boyfriend leaving for the Peace Corps—even though that had been their plan, and she was leaving too in just a couple of months. It was still a pretty new remedy, and it totally stopped her day and night crying, quite a relief for her parents, too!” –Barbara Kreemer, ND (e-mail communication, March 23, 2024)

In addition to her retail ventures and involvement with the health care industry, Melanie owned an alpaca ranch and a candle making business, taught screenwriting, and was a wholesaler of medical textbooks, among other things.

“She was an avid rower, creative writer, watercolor painter and natural fiber spinner and knitter. Her favorite place was her beautiful home on Queen Anne in Seattle, WA where she and her husband cultivated a garden full of tulips, daffodils, heritage roses and bonsai trees. For many decades, Melanie was deeply connected to her spiritual home with the Seattle Baha’i community. She lived her life with passion and creativity and an endless fascination in the world we live in.” –Danielle Rudess

“For about two decades I had the honor and pleasure of regularly working with Melanie as she contributed to Homoeopathic Links in many ways: as guest-editor, author and book reviewer. In the guest editorial for LINKS 1/2005 she wrote: “What a time for homeopathy! It is truly becoming medicine for the whole planet.” Some paradigms later she wrote: “I am proud to be a homeopath. What else can be healing balm to the strife of the times we live in?” Melanie also referred to the infighting she observed within the homeopathic community. Let the following words from the last paragraph be a guiding light for us today: “My new year's resolution is to listen more to opinions I disagree with, investigate with an open mind, and let Time decide what works and what doesn't.” Thank you Melanie for your contribution to homeopathy and humanity.” –Harry van der Zee, MD (e-mail communication, February 25, 2024)

“Dr. Bastyr personally lent Melanie many homeopathy books and she became so fascinated with homeopathy that she stopped her naturopathic studies, and became a homeopath. Melanie told me she came to Dr Bastyr because she had been diagnosed with a large fibroid tumor. He examined her and said, “You don't have a fibroid tumor, you're pregnant,” and later delivered her son. She also said that Dr Bastyr was so capable of curing infertility with homeopathic medicines that he once said jokingly to her, “…in my medical practice, I've made many women pregnant.”

“Melanie was RSHom, and CCH. She was a very lovely person with a very kind heart.” –Richard Mann, ND (e-mail communication February 29, 2024)

“Melanie was a barrel of energy and had a strong commitment to homeopathy. Much more than simply a practitioner, she helped lead the professional homeopaths to greater levels of education and integration within the tapestry of homeopathy in the USA—and indeed the international community. Thanks, Melanie for the Buckyball! Go in peace.” –Roger Morrison, MD and Nancy Herrick MA, PA, DH(H)

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. Mai 2025