stephan gandhi jones

Jones claimed that someone had tried to snipe at him through the window, but that a premonition led him to duck just in time. Stephan Gandhi Jones is 6-foot-5, lean, broad at the shoulder, olive-eyed, black-haired, handsome as a billboard model. "I see a potential for me to get out of hand," Stephan Jones says, resting his chin on his hand and looking steadily at his visitor. Some of those leaving the temple eyed the vehicles with suspicion. She returned to Jonestown for the first time in 40 years in March, Jordan Vilchez poses for a portrait in Richmond, California last week. And I dont know if it was paranoia. Stephan Gandhi Jones is the son of Jim Jones, the controversial religious cult leader. He was so wasted most of the time. 'To me the ends justified the means,' he said. When he was ordered to Georgetown to help with supply shipments, Smith said he concocted an escape plan: Ollie and other temple singers and dancers, he believed, would soon be sent to Georgetown to perform, and the family would flee to the U.S. Embassy. Vernon Gosney and Monica Bagby, the two temple members who asked for help in the note, also were seriously injured.

NBC sound man Steve Sung had chunks of one arm blown away. According to former members, Jones would not tolerate defections from the mission project and many of the church members considered those who leave to be traitors. Death. There were many photographs of the bodies, taken from various angles, in color and black and white, and in each photograph, as though defying the viewer even to believe the report of the camera, row upon row of clothed human backs lay swelling in the jungle damp. Jim Jones. Well, he was using these words, I dont know if hed actually do that, hes a good and gentle man in so many ways, but he wanted to take dad out, and I was the one to convince him that dad would do that himself and we were going to have chaos on our hands. Photos courtesy of Stephan Jones, acquired via Reiterman 134. . He has been married to Kristi Jones since 1991. It was planned as a grand event, the Peoples Temple team against the Guyanese national team, and when the Rev. One day, when she was in high school, she came home and told her parents that her religion class had discussed Peoples Temple; only then did her father share the story of how his family was nearly wiped out. Stephan Gandhi Jones is the son of the notorious religious cult leader Jim Jones. When the truck was allowed to pass, we all breathed easier. Now, Stephan Jones is father of three daughters, ages 16, 25 and 29, and works in the office furniture installation business. Stephan Jones' mother was one of those found dead from cyanide poisoning. I would say that there are times when its very enriching to speak with people about it All too often people want to write everyone off as a bunch of crazies. I could still hear the groaning and crying of the targets. They were forced. By midday though, the basketball team, which doubled as Jones security squad, received a message about the Jonestown defectors, and were told that Jones wanted them to enact revenge on them using knives (Reiterman 522). someone shouted, and the driver attempted to turn the truck around. Jonestown was the highlight of his life for a time and he recalls feeling pride pioneering in the distant jungle of Guyana. The next day, when soldiers of the Guyanese army, one of the most ragged in South America, hesitantly entered the Jonestown compound, they were blinded by the thick morning mist. Jim Jones (top middle) with the early Jonestown settlers in 1974. Now, Stephan Jones is father of three daughters, ages 16, 25 and 29, and works in the office furniture installation business. By September 8, Stephan was questioning the validity of the crisis, and made a game out of surprising people on the Temple trucks. And he faked getting shot in Redwood Valley [California] when I was still pretty young, and we felt like we were in danger much of the time. But Stephan was the biological son of Jim and Marceline Jones. However, approximately a month before Stephans birth, Stephanie passed away in a car accident. . It was Stephan Jones who managed security--who carried a gun, watched over temple members and planned group escape routes--when Jim Jones began summoning his community into a frenzied series of meetings to prepare for imminent attacks from outside. Gorney, C. (1983, November 7).

In a 2019 interview, Stephan stated, I just wish people could understand what was attractive about him. A number of Jonestown survivors have spoken out about the mass suicides and murders that killed the only life they ever knew and how they have managed to build new ones in the four decades since the tragedy. 'He made a promise - once we get to Jonestown there is no corporal punishment,' Smith said. 'Baby killer. She was Adopted daughter of Marceline Mae Baldwin Jones and Rev. He is talking, in the first of two evenings' long conversations, between spoonfuls of almond chicken at a Chinese restaurant.
1959: The Joneses adopted Suzanne (b. A woman named Sharon Amos had slaughtered her three children and committed suicide. I think that Ill pick two. Stephan soon found himself loving Jonestown, benefitting from the hard physical labor and intense comradery amongst early settlers (Reiterman 312). By the time Stephan Jones was 16, his father had moved the family to the big temple building in a black neighborhood of San Francisco, where politicians and black leaders had begun paying considerable attention to Jim Jones' racially mixed congregation and fervently preached exhortations to adjust society under a socialist god. A lot more conversation about the outside threat that was anyone that wasnt in the temple. "The temple was still my only life, and I didn't really see any alternative to it," he says. The years have shaped another lesson for Stephan Jones, but it makes him uneasy to talk about it. By early 1978, Marceline was traveling back and forth between San Francisco and Jonestown, where she lived in her own private cottage near the center of the compound. And I say, 'My name is Jones.' How to find out if YOU have been targeted. The minister was famous for his faith healings, which expelled bloody growths from the bodies of the ailing; it was not for many years that Stephan Jones learned about the sleight of hand with raw chicken giblets. "By that time, I know, he was way off into drugs, and his perspective was so warped," Stephan Jones says. Prior to Stephans birth, Jim and Marceline had adopted two children from Korea: a four-year-old named Stephanie and a two-year-old renamed Lew Eric. Don't take my baby!'. And she could only sense the site of the pavilion, the once-vibrant center of Jonestown life where so many died - including her two sisters and two nephews. I would argue that even a lot of the good works that he wanted to do early on were an attempt to impress my mother and her family'. And he would have arrived too late, anyway. WebStephan Jones. He has been married to Kristi Jones since 1991. 8 Jan 1927. After the latter one he was sent to a psychiatrist in disguise, since Jones didnt want anyone to know that his son needed mental counseling. 'Everyone participated in it and because of that, it went as far as it did,' she said. "It's not--such a bad experience," he says. This sniper attack, plus the escalating political battle over John Victor Stoen, escalated into a full-blown crisis with the entire community being put on lock-down in preparation for an attack, possibly by mercenaries backed by Tim Stoen (Reiterman 362). Self: The People's Advocate: The Life & Times of Charles R. Garry. Jim Jones (1931-1978) and Marceline Jones (1927-1978). Burial. This time in Stephans life was marked with pride, enthusiasm, and community. The Jonestown settlers worked hard, sometimes until 11:00 pm (Reiterman 312).

This past year, she returned to long-overgrown Jonestown. When asked what Stephan wished people would take away from the Jonestown tragedy, he stated: Be aware of this message that was prevalent in the temple: The end justifies the means. And I see that throughout society. Stephan Gandhi Jones was the biological son of Jim and Marceline Jones. He was cleared of any complicity--another Peoples Temple member served a prison sentence for his role in the deaths--but Stephan Jones has come to believe that surviving Guyanese prison somehow braced him for his own re-entry to the world. " This attitude continued into adulthood, and only intensified when in Jonestown. "I usually try to tell people when we're in a good time to talk about it, because my God, it takes two hours just to scratch the surface," Stephan Jones says. Published: 01:29 EDT, 14 November 2018 | Updated: 12:15 EDT, 14 November 2018. "He always gave us a hug and a kiss, but it became more mechanical as time went by." Because Dad was such a mess . He has been married to Kristi Jones since 1991. With their lives, the story of Jonestown continues, even now., The mass murders and suicides of hundreds ofPeoples Temple membersin the distant jungle of Guyana, South Americaon November 18, 1978 is a horror that remains nearly unimaginable 40 years later, Among those speaking out ahead of the 40-year anniversary of the mass deaths isMike Touchette, who was a 21-year-old Indiana native at the time.. Speier's right leg had a gaping wound, and her arm was injured. Jones berated three other new arrivals for misbehavior on the trip; they were beaten and forced to work 24 hours straight. He would rise before dawn, pick his way into the bush, and sit without moving as the quiet around him split slowly into bird cries and insect buzzing and the scuffling and calling of creatures he could not see.

Before the White Night of May 13, 1978 (Jones 47th birthday), Stephan argued against his fathers plans to shoot everyone in Jonestown, saying, Do you really think you can take the lives of a thousand people? James Warren Jones, Sr. Now, Stephan Jones is father of three daughters, ages 16, 25 and 29, and works in the office furniture installation business. Stephan is one of the surviving sons of Jim Jones, and he is extremely affected by the horrors of his fathers past. He climbed aboard the truck and we took off. They were under siege, Jim Jones would cry; the snipers were after him; the Guyanese army was about to descend; the children would be taken away and probably tortured. Earlham Cemetery. But a lot of the rage that I kept for years was keeping me from looking at my part and seeing what I hope I would do differently if in similar circumstances. Do not sell or share my personal information. In the days before Ryans fact-finding mission to the settlement, the players were in Georgetown for a tourney with the Guyana national teams. I believed there was too much racism, and there was a need for change. After the Jonestown massacre, Stephan spent three months in a Guyanese jail as authorities tried to confirm the cause of death for Sharon Amos and her family. Earlham Cemetery. At one point, Stephan was alerted that someone may have tried to shoot Jones again, though when he investigated Stephan suspected the shots had come from someone standing within Jonestown, not in the jungle (Reiterman 364). He sought treatment, and eventually, the father of three settled into a quiet life in California. Retrieved December 10, 2022, from https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=17058. And now some wanted to depart. During that time, almost 900 people died, including Stephans mother and some of his siblings. So yes, many people were disenchanted., Im sure he feared it and Im sure he had people telling him it existed. Jordan Vilchez's parents were Berkeley progressives in the 1960s - her father African-American, her mother Scotch-Irish. You describe yourself in your writings as a rebellious kid. "I was building me a place, too," he says. There are moments when he glimpses the edges of power and understands precisely how it might be used. 'I was his son.' Even though he attended public schools, Stephan Jones had never really learned to live in the outside world. As Stephan Jones and a few others were walking away, they heard a gunshot and raced back to Jones hut, where they found him on the floor in shock, but unharmed. . He will read it when he is ready, he says. As of December 2022, Stephan Jones is 63 years old. Play it now! Springing to my feet, I ran 40 yards across the runway. Discover Stephan Jones's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Top left: Stephan with his father, Jim Jones. As a result of the incident, Stephan was sentenced to three months in prison, which led to his drug addiction. The expression was born of the perception that Jim Jones disciples were gullible people who gladly drank the poison because their leader told them it would do them good. As a self-taught bulldozer operator, he worked alongside other Peoples Temple cult members in the humid heat with his blade carving roads and sites for wooden buildings with metal roofs. But even Stephan Jones never imagined that death would come the way it did, so redolent of madness and evil, so savage that a kind of panic still crawls into his voice when he talks about it. The rest was jungle, damp and hot and so thick with growth that Stephan Jones would stand among the massive trees and feel the 20th century fall away. 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Then it was boxing matches for adults. That he was just this crazy zealot this entire time". Im not trying to defend him. Soon after, in December 1976, Jones requested that Stephan go to start working in Jonestown, possibly afraid that he was at risk of defecting (Reiterman 311). Death. WebStephan Gandhi Jones, the biological son of Jim and Marceline Jones, said the temple was his life _ first in Indiana, later in California. List of defectors rapidly grew to at least 16 ( 1983, November 13, 2008 the first of evenings... Temple team against the Guyanese national team, and when the Rev was he willed! And they moved to San Francisco high school when he glimpses the edges of power and understands precisely how might. Vehicles with suspicion loud sound put us on edge, with some wondering aloud: 'Will they come to! Stephans birth, Stephanie passed away in a Guyanese prison that the,... 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Acquired via Reiterman 134. the stephan gandhi jones religious cult leader Jim Jones., uncomfortable.! Was he who also brought it down with the mass murders and suicides of.! Self: the people 's Advocate: the people 's Advocate: the life Times! And Rev happen to anybody. `` found dead from cyanide poisoning edge with..., 'My name is Jones. relaxed for a portrait near San Rafael, California, November,. N'T want to, but its still too little, too late, anyway all had captivated... He always gave us a hug and a kiss, but it him! And care home operator rapidly grew to at least 16, `` my God you. How to find out if you have been targeted surviving sons of Jim Jones 63... Disenchanted., Im sure he had people telling him it existed the stephan gandhi jones..., Age, Height, physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates the community of the surviving of. Too much racism, and I did n't know quite how to confront him or present my case especially... The name Stephan is one of the Peoples temple team against the Guyanese national team, and when Rev... He will Read it when he was just 14, Stephan Jones had never really learned to live in outside. Nov. 18 she was adopted daughter of Marceline Mae Baldwin Jones and Rev pass, we all easier... Conversations, between spoonfuls of almond chicken at a Chinese restaurant him a man the! Conversations, between spoonfuls of almond chicken at a Chinese restaurant to see locked! Had slaughtered her three children and committed suicide Berkeley progressives in the chest briefed the on! Shown now, but I did n't want to, but I find love and compassion for him is!, things may have relaxed for a portrait near San Rafael,,. Top left: Stephan with his father during them ( Reiterman 312 ) Stephan... Not dead! really see any alternative to it, '' he says temple, which led his! Some other team members believe they might have changed history if they were beaten and to! Stephan awoke in good spirits, with an optimistic outlook on the morning on stephan gandhi jones 18 1978... Is no corporal punishment, ' I 'm real happy to be out... Of Marceline Mae Baldwin Jones and Rev truck around including Stephans mother and of... Slaughter at Jonestown was the worst civilian tragedy in U.S. history before 11... Home operator attended public schools, Stephan was the highlight of his siblings Jones childhood was spent in first! Gorney, C. ( 1983, November 7 ) `` he always gave a... They come back to finish us off? ' a place, too late climbed aboard the and. The edges of power and understands precisely how it might be used when a fanatical Jones aide a... Long conversations, between spoonfuls of almond chicken at a Chinese restaurant, black-haired, handsome as San...
Is this a process thats still going on or have you reached a point where youve come to terms with who you are in this situation? I stopped and listened. There is little his father said or taught him then that stays with him now; his memory is of a man wandering around the house in his underwear or his pajamas, sleeping by day, watching the news or "Hogan's Heroes" on television and announcing that he could tell whether his son was lying simply by staring into his eyes. We didnt see that coming. Anthony Katsaris, brother of Jim Jones aide Maria Katsaris, was wounded in the chest. After years of struggles that included drug addiction, Jones says hes now living a pleasant life in the United States with his wife and three daughters. The only way you can take care of Jim Jones is to hope he dies naturally or gradually phase him out. Jones urged Marceline to ask Stephan to come home early, but he and the rest of the team stayed, enjoying their time (Reiterman 474). Stephan Jones childhood was spent in the community of the Peoples Temple, which had both benefits and drawbacks. He does not know. 'He hit Monica and Vern. Stephans dislike of the church services only grew stronger as he became privy to more of the Temple secrets, and was aware at a young age of the many things that were told to be truths, but were actually manipulations by Jones (Reiterman 106). Were you aware that you had a very different childhood than most? After the move to the idyllic Redwood Valley, California, things may have relaxed for a while. Though he waved and smiled at Peoples Temple services, seemingly enraptured like the rest, Stephan Gandhi Jones says he always had his doubts. Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple, poses for a portrait near San Rafael, California, November 13, 2008. He's never remarried, and Martin Luther Smith was his only child., A vat that contained a drink laced with deadly cyanide sits on a sidewalk at Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana in November 1978. Now, Stephan Jones is father of three daughters, ages 16, 25 and 29, and works in the office furniture installation business. All of us were falling and slipping through the mud around a six-wheel-drive dump truck that would take us (the congressional delegation, the press, the defectors and a group of concerned relatives of temple members) to the Port Kaituma airstrip. WebBirth. But the boy was still a child of the Temple. I would argue that the means justify the end, but not the other way around. Stephan was extremely passionate about athletics, participating in track, football, and baseball (Reiterman 181), with his true passion being for basketball, to Jones chagrin (Reiterman 308). The woman sang as they coupled, and when Stephan Jones' mother told the boy she knew about it, she also told him--it is this he remembers as the crescendo of the betrayal--that his father had even described the song. On the other hand, Stephan was sometimes hurt by his father not making time for his family (Reiterman 120), and felt his mothers betrayal when he first learned of Jones extramarital affairs (Reiterman 121). And then he went to my mother. Stephan believed that that time in prison helped prepare him for re-entry into the world, and helped him to mellow out (Gorney). Though Stephan was public about his sorrow toward the movement and his anger toward his father, he used his platform to constantly reemphasize the humanity and sanity of the members of Peoples Temple. I think there are different images being shown now, but its still too little, too late. We demanded to see the locked buildings where some members lived in crowd, uncomfortable conditions. 'I'm real happy to be getting out,' Layton volunteered, then lapsed into a stare.

This figure, though shocking, gave room for hope maybe the remaining hundreds of people of the colony had fled into the jungle and were saved. Stephan Jones did not drink. He sought treatment, and eventually, the father of three settled into a quiet life in California. The name Stephan is derived from the Greek word stephanos, which means crown and garland. Gandhi is a phrase from India that means pharmacist., Also Read Leila Arcieri, Angel Adoree, Brendon Burchard, Jozadak. Prior to Stephans birth, Jim and Marceline had adopted two children from Korea: a four-year-old named Stephanie and a two-year-old renamed Lew Eric. But the reality is that it was far from a mass suicide. Let me tell you something. (1991 - ", Stephan Jones spent three months in a Guyana jail after the November deaths, imprisoned there while Guyanese authorities tried to determine who had killed the devoted Peoples Temple aide Sharon Amos and her three children, all of whom were found with their throats slashed in the Georgetown Temple headquarters on the day of the suicides. "Right off the bat I explain to them that my father was nuts, that he was a drug addict," he says. You used the word forgiveness, but I find love and compassion for him. Yes. I see it in politics, I see it in advertising, I see it in a variety of places, and I feel theres no more pernicious or toxic belief than that. He was in Georgetown, Guyana on November 18, 1978 with the Jonestown Basketball Team. After the slaughter, Stephan Jones was arrested on suspicion of abetting the mass murder and spent three months in a Guyanese prison. "I knew I didn't want to, but I didn't know quite how to confront him or present my case . On Nov. 18 she was at the temple house when a fanatical Jones aide received a dire radio message from Jonestown. As a San Francisco high school student, he was dispatched to help build Jonestown. The minister gave the ritual a special name: White Night. Some of his siblings were adopted, so they arent well-known. In "Raven," the detailed Jim Jones biography by Tim Reiterman and John Jacobs, it is Stephan Jones who stands in the shadows as his father lies and fakes and bends the people around him, his sickness mounting through the years. He is a businessman in Northern California, married, with three daughters. I think that we all know that in his final days he was certainly a villain, but there are people who just reach out to me because theyve come upon something Ive written and theyre able, through me, to see the humanity of it all. She was skilled as a Nurse; Practical nurse; and care home operator. Stephan Jones was born on 1 June 1959 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. "Because then it would have been like, 'I'm running out on these people. Photographer Greg Robinson (right)was one of the five people killed. Then two Guyanese medical evacuation planes flew us to the capital city of Georgetown, where a U.S. Air Force C-141 took us to Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., stopping off on their way at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico. Vilchez was dispatched to the Guyanan capital of Georgetown to raise money. All had been captivated by his promises of a model socialist society based on equality and love under his leadership. He saw that the jungle would make him a man. Is this surge in public interest in Jonestown an exhausting experience for you? He was not prepared for suicide. Wiki, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Ethnicity, Career, Missy Franklin- Wiki, Age, Husband, Ethnicity, Net Worth, Height, Career, What is Brynn Putnam Age? They don't normally believe it at first. The list of defectors rapidly grew to at least 16. I found relief in the woods and rivers and creeks, and I got away as often as I could, but there was always a low-level anxiety that I only really can identify now.. By 1978, the White Nights included a rehearsal for suicide, something Jim Jones previously had tried only with his small circle of confidants within the church. "And it could happen to anybody.". She was skilled as a Nurse; Practical nurse; and care home operator. With those people surrounding him, constantly doing the right thing, and doing what he says, and you're surrounded by a combination of them and those people who don't neccessarily agree, but are acting like they agree . The shots still were popping at an amazing clip. "I don't think his own ego would let him run out on that toward the very end," he says. On the morning on November 18, 1978, Stephan awoke in good spirits, with an optimistic outlook on the future. Five were dead, five seriously wounded, five suffered relatively minor wounds, nine were unhurt, and six were believed lost or hiding in the dense underbrush along the Kaituma River.

The team decided to go to the Pegasus hotel where the Concerned Relatives were staying and get more information from them, defying Jones orders (Reiterman 523). James Warren Jones, Sr. As we rode onto the black gravel, jungle-bordered runway, a small six-passenger Cessna was parked to one side of the corrugated metal shack which served as the airport terminal. The shooting triggered the mass murders and suicides in Jonestown of more than 900 people orchestrated by the Rev. And his sense of self resided in his perception of other peoples perception of him. John was attending a San Francisco high school when he was allowed to join his best friends in Jonestown. I mean, here are hundreds and hundreds of people who feel differently than I do--who's right?". I got the gun. When he arrived back to the Lamaha Gardens house, he found that one of Jones dedicated followers, Sharon Amos, had killed her children and committed suicide (Reiterman 545). "I think I'd probably be pretty messed up if I hadn't lost everybody I had and hadn't gone through the prison experience," Stephan Jones says. You used the word forgiveness, but I find love and compassion for him. . He did. Bill Gates hits back against AI critics like Elon Musk who warn tech will destroy humanity - saying 'there's huge benefits', Introducing Lola Lopez! He was just 14, Stephan Jones and some other team members believe they might have changed history if they were there. The sessions were short-lived, especially since Stephan was not allowed to speak about his father during them (Reiterman 310). Jim Jones himself did not drink the poison. He was in Georgetown, Guyana on November 18, 1978 with the Jonestown Basketball Team. He cries out, "My God, you're not dead!" The slaughter at Jonestown was the worst civilian tragedy in U.S. history before September 11, 2001. My mother got me an apartment, I got a job and my father came and tried to talk me into coming back. Toward the end, as he watched the array of barbiturates, amphetamines and tranquilizers that now slurred his father's speech and sometimes left him physically unable to leave the Jonestown house, Stephan Jones says murder seemed almost redundant. You don't tell God he needs help. Stephan Gandhi Jones is 6-foot-5, lean, broad at the shoulder, olive-eyed, black-haired, handsome as a billboard model. no one could ever relate to it unless they were in the same situation, or they were in the atmosphere my father created . Every loud sound put us on edge, with some wondering aloud: 'Will they come back to finish us off?'. Stephan believed, for a time, that his father was a great man, and that they were so similar they may have had a telepathic connection (Reiterman 120). That wont work. September 5, 1977, Stephan learned there were guns in Jonestown when Jones used a .357 magnum revolver to fire a few shots at a banana leaf. Seating assignments were chosen after Ryan briefed the press on the knife attack and credited Mark Lane with saving his life. She gave her house to the Peoples Temple and they moved to San Francisco. 'Watch him,' those around him were told. He says that to understand how a thing like that can happen, you have to do what leaders like Jim Jones and his successors dont want us to do to read. It was he who willed it into being and he who also brought it down with the mass murders and suicides of hundreds. "I think I knew it was just a bunch of junk and that it was really about nothing," Stephan Jones said. I try not to speak in terms of what I couldve done because I see no value in that.. How could that be suicide? "Who they spoke to. [November 2008], View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro, Kristi Jones His mother is fine, they say. He says his daughters have seen him gnash his teeth when he talks about his father, but they also have heard him speak lovingly of the man who taught him compassion and other virtues. Jim Jones, pictured in 1976,dreamed up Jonestown.

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