Aisha Bey; launched line of teas, remedies

Aisha Bey, 70, owner of Aisha's Herbals, a maker and distributor of herbal teas and remedies, died of heart failure Monday, July 29, at her home in Orinda, Calif.

The former Jennifer Baker Fleming was born in New York City, graduated from Collingswood High School in 1961, and earned a bachelor's degree in social work at the Philadelphia campus of Antioch College in 1975.

She was the author of Stopping Wife Abuse: A Guide to the Emotional, Psychological and Legal Implications, published by Anchor Press in 1979.

Ms. Bey began her herbal business from her Germantown home in the early 1990s because "she kept running into people who were sick and didn't have the means to heal," son Robert M. Fleming Jr. said.

In 1998, Ms. Bey earned a correspondence certificate in herbalism from Dominion Herbal College in Burnaby, British Columbia.

While involved earlier in martial arts training, her website states, she "became interested in the healing methods of Eastern and indigenous cultures."

She earned a brown belt at the East Coast Shotokan Karate Association in West Philadelphia, her son said.

After "studying with healers in the USA and abroad," the website states, "she began her career in the health-food industry and established her natural-healing practice."

Among her jobs, she managed health-food sections of stores in the Philadelphia region, said her son, who is codirector of the Engineering and Design Institute at Philadelphia University and an associate professor in the architecture program there.

A 1994 Inquirer story about alternative therapies for cancer patients said Ms. Bey was "a self-described natural healer" whose background was in social work.

"In her opinion," the story reported, "cancer stems from toxins, stress and lack of nutrients, and her health drink replenishes essential vitamins and minerals."

In 2001, Ms. Bey moved to Orinda, just east of Berkeley, and became a regular at the Berkeley Flea Market, where she sold her herbal products and provided consultations about them.

She also ran workshops there about holistic and herbal practices.

Before her career in herbalism, her son said, she helped open the Burlington County Community Action Program as well as the Philadelphia Women's Center, Women in Transition, and the Women's Resource Network.

He said that in the 1980s, his mother became interested in Islam, adopted some of the religion's practices, and changed her name to Aisha Bey.

In addition to her book about spousal abuse, her son said, she was the author or coauthor of other books published in the 1970s and 1980s, such as Women in Transition, A Feminist Handbook on Separation and Divorce.

In addition to her son, she is survived by another son, Farrakhan Muhammad Rogers; daughter Kathy Fleming; a brother; a sister; and five grandchildren. She is also survived by her former husband, Robert M. Fleming.

Donations may be made to the East Oakland Community Project, www.eocp.net.

Condolences may be offered to the family at beymemorial@gmail.com.