“Looking for them for 30 years please have their daughter contact me. We love them see message also for Clevyee.” -
Penny“Willie and his wife, Clevyee, 58, were professionals, a close couple and a hard-working team. They did a lot of the heavy lifting in 1976 and 77, serving as temporary operators in rest home after rest home in the Redwood Valley/Ukiah areas, as other Temple members (Beams, Ijames, Swinneys, Swaneys) put them up for sale and departed for Guyana. The Sneeds were helped by Carrie Langston, Annie McGowan, and some other members. The residential care homes were in members' homes, with usually from four to eight guests, most elderly, some for youth with special needs. Most guests had formerly been residents of Mendocino State Hospital, a state mental hospital closed in 1969 by then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan.
The Sneeds were praised, with Geraldine Baily and Amanda Fair, for raising $328 at a flea market (
Edith Roller's journals for September 1976).Helen Swinney’s care home is being run by the Sneeds (
November 1976). A year later, the Sneeds were about to return to SF, since the rest home they were operating in Ukiah had finally be taken over by those who purchased it (
November 1977). They were on their way to Guyana the next month.
In Jonestown, the Sneeds continued to surpass expectations, and were each praised during a Jonestown community meeting, Willie for working seven and a half hours on his day off, out in the fields; and his wife for starting nursing training (
Tape Q 269). What a heartbreaking end to all their valiant efforts. Dear Willie and Clevyee, may you rest in peace, and your memory endure always. You are not forgotten.” -
Kathryn (Tropp) Barbour
;)
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