Stephan spent many hours visiting with her whenever he got the chance (Reiterman 400). "It's like you went to a vacation in Europe and found out the United States had sunk," he says. On Nov. 18, the day Rep. Leo Ryan and four others were shot to death on the airstrip at Port Caituma, Guyana, Stephan Jones and his teammates went to the movies in Georgetown. I said there must be another way.. "He was a gentle man in a lot of ways," Jones says, stretched now over the sofa in his small apartment. Jordan Vilchezs parents were Berkeley progressives in the 1960s her father African-American, her mother Scotch-Irish. They have altogether three daughters. 'Liquidator,' " Stephan Jones remembers being called, as he lay on his prison cot and listened to the mosquitoes swarm. " Jones himself, after some artfully applied pressure to the mayor's office, was appointed to the San Francisco Housing Authority, where once-tedious meetings about public housing suddenly erupted into vigorous cheering sessions, with temple members applauding the pronouncements of Commissioner Jones. Charles Luther Manson was born on April 10, 1963 to Leona Rae "Candy" Stevens. Jim Jones radioed his son with orders to return to Jonestown, Stephan Jones refused to cut short the trip. That wont work. At 17 he was a defection risk, so his father Jim Jones sent him to work on the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project in Guyana, which Stephan loved in its early days (Reiterman 311). . Stephan is the only living son of Jim Jones and his late wife. They have, however, moved on with their lives. "I knew I didn't want to, but I didn't know quite how to confront him or present my case . He made a promise once we get to Jonestown there is no corporal punishment, Smith said. Vilchez was dispatched to the Guyanese capital of Georgetown to raise money. In his spare time he swims, or rides his bicycle, or lifts weights, or plays basketball. Manipulative tendencies. ", Today, Mr. Jones realizes "I couldn't have done it any differently. ", But the apparent calm has been hard-won. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. ". In 1961, Jones earned a degree in secondary education from Butler University in Indianapolis. . That way no one else would want to live. He imagines the guards with guns, and the sky clouding over, and the air suddenly wild with fear, and the sight of the children. They, on the other hand, have moved on with their lives. _taboola.push({ Despite there only being around 50 settlers, construction was quickly getting under way. Stephan Jones, Jim Jones's only surviving child, was born on June 1, 1959, in Indiana, United States. Stephan, like his father, is looking for forgiveness. Only one son, Stephan, was born to Jim Jones and his late wife Marceline Jones. "He was always preaching the hostility toward us and warning people what would happen or what could happen from the outside," Stephan Jones says. Then it was boxing matches for adults. You don't tell God, "You're not going out of the house. The people involved include Agnes Pauline Jones, Timothy Glen Jones, Jim Jon Prokes, Jim W. Jones Jr, Lew Eric Jones, John Moss Jones, Suzanne O. Jones, and Stephanie Jones. "When it really came down to it, I thought there wasn't any need, because I thought he'd be dead in a couple months anyway," he says. Afterwards, the 19-year-old Stephan. . There was something there. "I dont care what you think of his ancestor or progeny. I wouldn't have run.". It made it easy to find playmates, but there were also high expectations put on his shoulders as the son of the prophet. "And it could happen to anybody.". Stephan GandhiJones was away at a basketball game in Georgetown when his father,Jim Jones, ordered the Peoples Temple mass suicide in 1978 at a compound in Guyana, dubbed "Jonestown." Stephan believed that that time in prison helped prepare him for re-entry into the world, and helped him to mellow out (Gorney). Marcellus Wiley was required to make a crucial choice concerning the birth of their third daughter. Some of the best people I've ever met were in Jonestown and some of the worst. Being in Jonestown before Jim got there was the best thing in my life.. Dozens of members in Guyana slipped out of Jonestown or happened to be away that day. By the end of 1977, Stephan was getting more fed-up with his father. At first it was spanking of children. Stephan comes from the Greek word stephanos, which meaning crown and garland. Gandhi is an Indian term that translates to pharmacist.. "You can tell when it's a man; the positions are different," Jones says evenly. I've certainly seen some wonderful things come out of religion, not least from my mother's parents and her sister. Stephan Jones made two suicide attempts as a high schooler. Everybody did the best with what they had, even my poor, sick, monstrous fraud of a father. "I was building me a place, too," he says. He went through years of nightmares, mourning and shame. Celebrity Babies can be found on Biography Line for extra entertainment. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. Hes never remarried, and Martin Luther Smith was his only child. Charles MansonJr. was born in 1956 to Rosalie Jean Willis. Instead of finishing high school, Vilchez moved to San Francisco, where she lived in the church. Copyright 2017-2018 Free Articles by ecelebritymirror.com, All rights reserved. Then they could identify and allow themselves to step into the story and understand how such a thing could happen (Sharir). Gorney, C. (1983, November 7). "I just felt like this was all they had," he says. How do you live down the fact that your father orchestrated the biggest mass suicide in history? 1959 (June 1): Marceline gave birth to son Stephan Gandhi Jones. Jim Jones himself did not drink the poison. Meet Stephan Gandhi Jones - Late Jim Jones' Son and Wife Marceline Jones. Mr. Jones first travelled to Jonestown in early 1977 and worked on clearing land for the settlement and building housing for the devotees of the Peoples Temple. ", Jim Jones had warned them over and over that invading soldiers would torture their children; maybe that is what they feared most, Stephan Jones says. Stephans high school experience was marked by grueling weekend temple trips, multiple switches in schools, difficulty making friends outside of the temple, and sports (Reiterman 309). Then he waits a while, until they have come to know him--the very tall young man with the kind voice and the black mustache. You'd have to deal with this elite that just revolved their lives around him' . Jim was the Rev. Peoples Temple lost the game, but only by 10 points, which seemed worth celebrating. He saw that the jungle would make him a man. "The minute I stepped out on the street, I felt so uncomfortable," he says. Little Jimmy became part of their Rainbow Family of white, black, Korean-American and Native American children. (n.d.). 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. Some of the original settlers, included Stephan, resented the new arrivals who second-guessed their work (Reiterman 348). You don't tell God he needs help. DeWolf passed in 1991 at the age of 57. The only surviving child of Jim Jones,Stephan was born on June 1, 1959, in Indiana, USA. . Marceline often confided to him about Jones and her anger toward him (Reiterman 401). Since his father, Late Jim Jones, carried out a horrendous massacre in Jonestown on Nov. 18, 1978, Stephan Jones, Jim Jones 59-year-old son, has been through a lot. Eventually, when it came close to poison being rolled out, Stephan muttered, Oh fuck, and Jones jumped on the opportunity, claiming Stephan was too afraid to die, and using that as the redirection to call off the White Night (Reiterman 426). Background details that you might want to know about Stephan include: ethnicity is unknown, whose political affiliation is none; and . Its been almost ten years that Ive been putting up with this shit. 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. As a San Francisco high school student, he was dispatched to help build Jonestown. Stephan believed that church members preferred Jimmy (James Jones Jr.) over him, which sometimes resulted in teasing and fights between the two (Reiterman 104). "Because then it would have been like, 'I'm running out on these people. His siblings arent well-known, and some of them were adopted. "I would have had to, especially if I saw other people doing it, and I right off the bat wasn't on top of things, and somehow wasn't right there starting some kind of--it's so hard--", Stephan Jones covers his face for a moment, fingers kneading his forehead. This led to disillusionment and hostility toward his father, and a strong bond with his mother Marceline (Reiterman 124). "I don't even know who my loved ones were with when they died," he says softly. It marched for four jailed Fresno newsmen. Jim W. Jones Jr.'s Education and Career. Then, after a 1977 New West magazine expose of temple disciplinary beatings and other abuses, she was sent to Jonestown. It's like my hurt for them, or my missing them, is the only thing I have left of them." He is the author with the late John Jacobs of Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. He has been married to Kristi Jones since 1991. The tournament was in Georgetown, the Guyanese capital, 150 miles away. As a result of the incident, Stephan was sentenced to three months in prison, which led to his drug addiction. Jones later told Tim and Johnny to put Stephan under armed surveillance, which they laughed with Stephan about. Though he waved and smiled at Peoples Temple services, seemingly enraptured like the rest, Stephan Gandhi Jones says he always had his doubts. 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. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. And the temple was his life first in Indiana, later in California. The temple really became my family, she said. Acting has become a hobby for Stephan Gandhi Jones. yakima skybox latch problem; busta paga errata in difetto. Copy. In the radio room at the Lamaha Gardens house in Georgetown, where the basketball team was staying, Jones called Stephan over the radio and implored him to Please, please, take care of everyone there; to ensure that not only Tim Stoen and the enemies of the Temple dead, but that every member in San Francisco and Georgetown died as well (Reiterman 542). I mean, one thing's for sure: it happened, and there's no taking it back, so, my God, let's make the best of it. When I left at 21, I left a part of myself there, she said. People do things for him. The Jonestown settlers worked hard, sometimes until 11:00 pm (Reiterman 312). Jim Jones, called "Father" by some of his followers in the Peoples Temple and "Dad" by Stephan Jones. Only natural son of Rev. ", Follow James Adams on Twitter: @JglobeadamsOpens in a new window. . The only surviving child of Jim Jones, Stephan was born on June 1, 1959, in Indiana, USA. But the entertainers stayed in Jonestown to entertain Ryan. I guess I wanted to believe that, as a child.". America was a genuinely unfriendly place for a boy from an interracial family and community, and Jim Jones knew how to fan that into a fear of everything that lay beyond the temple walls. On the morning on November 18, 1978, Stephan awoke in good spirits, with an optimistic outlook on the future. [November 2008]. As a self-taught bulldozer operator, he worked alongside other Peoples Temple members in the humid heat, his blade carving roads and sites for wooden buildings with metal roofs. Home > About Jonestown > Jonestown Research > Jonestown Censuses > The Families of Jonestown > After the Jonestown massacre, Stephan moved back to San Francisco, where he stayed in close contact with other survivors of Peoples Temple, including the members of the basketball team. Of course, even if he wanted to forget Jonestown, his name was an ever-present reminder. He was in Georgetown, Guyana on November 18, 1978 with the Jonestown Basketball Team. In a 2019 interview, Stephan stated, I just wish people could understand what was attractive about him. He thinks now that it is probably stupid to believe that. STEPHAN Gandhi Jones is - in the eyes of the world - the son of a mass murderer. His wife is Kristi Jones (1991 - present)( 3 children). The people are elderly and he knows he must stop it, but he cannot make contact with them; they look at him as though from great distances. 1956). Stephan Jones eventually helped to form the Temple basketball team, and was away with them during the final White Night on November 18, 1978, allowing him to survive (Reiterman 474). . More than 900 individuals died during that time, including Stephans mother and some of his siblings. Now, Stephan is a father of three daughters, ages 16 . . ", Mr. Jones -- his first name is pronounced Stephen; Marceline Jones spelled it Stephan to honour the memory of an adopted daughter, Stephanie, who died in a car accident -- claims to be "someone who believes everything is providential. Some information may no longer be current. You know what would happen if you killed Jim Jones now?Some of the seniors think hes God and hes their only hope. More than 900 people lived in the agricultural mission, with its dining pavilion, tidy cottages, school, medical facilities and rows of crops. . 17. He built a long career in health care, while weathering his own serious health problems. 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