Jeffrey Brian Cawley

Passed Away on February 24, 2026

Jeffrey Brian Cawley of Phoenix, AZ passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 24. 2026.  Jeff, the sixth of nine children, was born in Peoria, IL on January 12,1955, to Dallas and Madeline (Fehr) Cawley.  He loved growing up in Eureka, playing pick-up neighborhood baseball with his brother Mitch, riding bikes all over town, playing high school football and baseball, delivering newspapers, writing for the high school newspaper, working at the grocery store and graveyard, and making his family and friends laugh until they cried.

At the age of 19 he decided to seek his fortune in the West and moved to Phoenix.  He worked his way up from washing cars to setting plants for a landscaper to learning design and starting his own business, Earth Art.  He designed many award winning large-scale home and commercial landscapes and was still designing until recent years.

Jeff married Deborah Mauk and started a family.  He is survived by Dallas Cawley (Sarah) of Austin, TX and their children, Cash and Harlowe, and Dezerae Stahl (Cote) of Mesa, AZ. and their children Trinitee and Emeline.  He cherished his children and grandchildren more than anything and let his inner child flourish with them.  Walks, bike rides, sing-alongs with his guitar, art sessions at his design table and swim dates in his backyard pool were just some of the ways he lovingly and intentionally connected with them.

Jeff loved the desert and hiking in the mountains around Phoenix, Sedona, and Flagstaff.  He also enjoyed working in later years at Rose Valley Farm in upstate New York with his sister Janet and her husband, David Stern, growing organic vegetables and making friends at the farmer’s market.

Every morning, Jeff rose very early for his meditation and prayer time, watching the sun rise. He was an avid reader and talented poet and artist.  He played guitar and sang original and traditional music with friends,  including his lifelong friend, Bennett Adams.

Jeff was a compassionate, generous, nonjudgemental man who made you laugh.  He knew he was deeply loved and cherished by his family and friends and will be greatly missed.