Jeannie Mills

Who was Jeannie Mills?

Jeannie Mills, born Deanna Mertle, née Gustafson, was an early defector from the Peoples Temple cult, author of the book Six Years with God, and co-founder of the Concerned Relatives of Peoples Temple Members organization.

She and her family joined the Peoples Temple in 1969; as Deanna and Elmer Mertle, she served as head of the Temple's publications office while her husband Al was the official photographer. They left the group with their five children in 1975 after Jones beat their daughter Linda 70 times with a paddle for a minor infraction. The family also changed their names to "Mills" to void the power of attorney they had given Jones.

After their defection, Mills published a memoir, Six Years with God: Life inside Rev. Jim Jones's Peoples Temple, established a center in Berkeley to deprogram ex-cultists, and persuaded Rep. Leo Ryan to undertake the fact-finding mission to Guyana that led to the Jonestown massacre and Ryan's death. She also co-founded the Concerned Relatives, a support group for Jonestown defectors and their families.