Helen Swinney was born on October 21, 1913, in Llano, Texas. Her family states that she was not a particularly religious person before meeting Jim Jones. She joined the Temple when they were still in Indiana, following them to Ukiah and Redwood Valley, California. This move severed ties with her existing family. She was drawn to Jim Jones because he lived what he taught. While living in California, she was a member of the Planning Commission and operated a nursing home with her husband, Cleave. Helen had a number of children and grandchildren, a number of which died on November 18. Helen later moved to Jonestown in 1976 where she was very involved in the leadership of the Temple, but was no longer officially involved on the Planning Commission.
While in Jonestown, her duties shifted to supporting the Temple in the kitchen preparing the food. This later expanded to purchasing the food that was being imported to the Temple. This meant she was placed on the boats owned by the Temple when it left to get supplies. The boat Albatross left Jonestown around November 2, 1978, for Trinidad to gather supplies for the Temple. This was the only journey that the Albatross made.
After the suicides, defectors expressed concern about Helen, stating that they believed she could be an “angel” or hitman, though she denies this. Throughout interviews after the events of November 18th, Helen gives the FBI the impression that she knows more about the interworking of Jonestown than she tells them. She is also very emotional and is said to be embarrassed by her ignorance of the reality of Jonestown and the Temple. After the massacre at Jonestown, Helen relocated to South Carolina. She died on October 17, 1999, in Loris, South Carolina. Several other members of the Swinney family that had defected from the Temple also relocated to the Loris, South Carolina area. It is unclear if they were in contact.
