Dear Friends of AHP,

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of a dear friend, mentor, and natural foods hero, Terry Lemerond, last week on September 3, 2026. There will undoubtedly be many tributes written about Terry over the next few weeks and months that will paint a full picture of his life and his many contributions to the natural products industry and, more importantly, to humanity. Terry was one of the earliest supporters of AHP and an early proposed AHP board member. True to his character, Terry suggested that AHP would be better served by having leaders in the natural medicine movement, which helped form the board that AHP has maintained since its inception.   

   I knew Terry in the earliest days of my introduction into the world of natural products in 1985 and came to know him better during our work towards the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which is the lifeblood of the industry today. Terry was a natural foods retailer first, becoming the owner of Bay Natural Foods in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1969. He is perhaps best known for his founding of Enzymatic Therapy in 1981, a leading brand in the industry for decades, and then EuroPharma and Terry Naturally in 2003, leading brands in more recent decades. Later Terry also opened two Terry Naturally health food stores in Green Bay, Wisconsin. During the entire time of owning health food stores and creating leading brands, Terry was constantly educating on all aspects of natural health through radio shows, podcasts, and authoring or co-authoring more than a dozen consumer-oriented books ranging on subjects ranging from general health, melatonin, propolis, and pain control, to cancer care.

   I reached out to another of my natural food heroes and friend of Terry's, Cheryl Hughes, who in 1983 founded Whole Wheatery, the premier natural foods store in Lancaster, California, and offered the following:

“This indeed is another calling for one of our most beloved industry icons to dance among the clouds. He remains in good company. He was a hero in so many ways. He was a man behind the scenes, forever an innovator. He taught the science behind the creation of his products. He had integrity and he had pride in all of us. I never passed Terry at any industry gathering where he didn’t offer a cheery hello and a big hug. Then he would lean in and share what was on his drawing board or in his mind. Innovation, research and clear communication were his hallmarks. Oh, and did I mention how dapper he always was. Looking the part of the magazine covers he often graced. Of course, he being a retailer first created an immediate bond. There was an innate trust and willingness to listen and learn from him. I remember testing his new product Curamin on my staff so many years ago. I never said what it was for just that they try it and report any changes they noticed. It became a staff favorite and a go to for all of us. As I continue to take mine, I will think of Terry with gratitude. Legends are born thru time and love. Terry leaves a huge legacy of faith, trust and joy behind for all of us to revel in. He loved our industry and believed right out to the tips of his wings in all that we do and all that we stand for. His legend is a part of who we are today in many ways. I, like so many, am proud to have known him and know he will always have faith in us.”

   These last words should be considered carefully by future generations of health food advocates. The natural products industry lives within a shadow of distrust and often condescendence by the conventional medical world, marginalized by media and victims of an antagonistic regulatory construct that sees no value in what we do. Many of us who have spent years in retail and clinical settings and know first-hand the benefits and potential benefits of natural products in human health have lived with this shadow. Terry embraced this completely and not only trusted in what we were doing as individuals and an industry but was willing to defend our rights to convey truthful information to consumers and health professionals. He put his mouth and money behind a mission of natural health education driven by a passion to change health care for the better.

   For many years, Dr. Michael Murray was the Scientific Director for Enzymatic Therapy and a leading educator on herbal medicine for the natural products and naturopathic medicine communities. His many books, including Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine co-authored by AHP board member Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, continue to serve as primary herbal medicine education resources for multiple generations of natural health advocates. Dr. Pizzorno, Chancellor, Bastyr University, noted:

“Terry was a friend, visionary and a pillar of the natural products industry. He was one of the first to understand that natural medicine and the industry were partners and was one of the earliest supporters of Bastyr University. We will miss him.”

   When AHP was forming, Terry immediately recognized the importance of developing quality standards for herbal products and the need to critically review the totality of data regarding the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine and offered his support. It was this passion for quality that led him to found EuroPharma, a supplement company dedicated to bringing clinically tested and GMP-compliant botanical and nutritional ingredients to the industry. Through the decades, his various brands introduced some of the most innovative products to the natural foods industry. In my most recent conversations with Terry these past few years, he was looking for innovative products to introduce from China and India. He was constantly on the hunt for novel ingredients backed by science.

   Terry’s philosophy and commitment to health are best summarized in the EuroPharma and Terry Naturally websites that state the following and are worthy of mentioning with pride. For many companies, these are marketing lines; for Terry, they reflected a true commitment to people and products:

“At EuroPharma, our desire is to bring proven, high-quality products to health food stores across America through our Terry Naturally® nutritional supplement line. Everything we do reflects our mission statement: Our Passion Is Your Health. It’s the benchmark for every decision being to serve our customers with a true dedication and nothing short of excellence.”

“Terry Naturally was founded on a simple idea: meaningful wellness support starts with quality ingredients, scientific research, and formulation designed with a purpose. Every product we create is backed by science, carefully sourced, and decades of formulation expertise. We don’t cut corners because your health deserves better.” 

And a message from Terry Naturally:

"We love you, Terry.❤️You helped so many people in this world, and we were beyond blessed to be those who had the privilege of working alongside you in your mission each day. Thank you for everything. We will miss you more than words can say.”



   So much more can be said about Terry and from my perspective, it is all good. We encourage you to visit the Facebook and LinkedIn pages (provided below) which present more than 200 testimonials and memorials to his life. They are a testimony of how his work has changed the lives of so many for the better: employees who treasured working for him, many who regarded him as a mentor, reflections of his generosity, and most poignantly and relevant to each of us, how his advice on guiding people in natural therapeutics changed their lives. Through the natural products lens, Terry lived a life of passion dedicated to changing people’s lives for the better in a world where health care is lacking, disease care rules supreme, and natural products, central to his life, provide part, even much, of the answer to the world’s ills. I am grateful to have had a 40-year friendship with such a good man. When the industry or individuals were in a tight and contentious spot, we always knew there was a man named Terry beside us, had our backs, and was willing to fight to advance the cause of natural healing.

   Our hearts go out to the Lemerond family and extended families and friends, who in addition to losing Terry, lost another family member, Brad, only a few months ago. We hold best wishes for the strength and kindness Terry showed to all of us and his continued legacy. To Terry, rest in peace my friend.



Links:

https://www.facebook.com/TerryNaturally/

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1540351554801349&set=pb.100064795566127.-2207520000

https://www.linkedin.com/company/europharma-inc/

Roy Upton, President, American Herbal Pharmacopoeia

Founder, Global Alliance for Integrative Health & Medicine (GAIHM)

For more information about AHP, or if you are interested in becoming an AHP member, please visit herbal-ahp.org. Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/herbal-ahp/?viewAsMember=true