Johnnie Mae Yates was born on September 28th, 1924 in Cameron, Texas (1302; Scott’s). She was an African American female. Yates would later go by Nedra as her first name (1302; Johnnie Mae Yates). Her chosen profession before joining the Peoples Temple Christian Church was that of a physical therapist. It is unclear of when exactly Yates joined the church. However, it seems she would continue this profession for the members within the Peoples Temple Christian Church based upon the attached photographs of her practicing while in Jonestown. Additionally, while in the Peoples Temple Christian Church, she was known to be a no nonsense personality that would say it like it is and work to fix what she thought was wrong. So much so that she even warded off Edith Cordell on occasion (Johnnie Mae Yates).
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She would become a survivor of the Jonestown Massacre due to being in a house at Georgetown with other members at the time. Yates was 50 years old then (1577; Johnnie Mae Yates). Yates would opt to remain in Georgetown, Guyana despite the depature of other survivors back to the U.S. after being released from Guyanease authorities (1724; Johnnie Mae Yates). While staying in Guyana, she resided in a small village outside of Georgetown (1746). It would appear that Yates eventually moved back to the United States. Not much is known of what came of her life when she came back to the U.S. other than her death. Yates would die on September 16th, 2009 in Gatesville, Texas at the age of 84. She is survived by a step niece and a blood relative niece (Scott’s).
