Bonnie Nettles was born on August 29, 1927 and raised in Houston, Texas, into a Baptist family.[2] As an adult, she moved away from the religion. After becoming a registered nurse, she married businessman Joseph Segal Nettles in December 1949, with whom she had four children. Their marriage remained mostly stable until 1972, at which time, according to The New York Times, she began attempting to contact deceased spirits by conducting regular seances and came to believe that a 19th-century monk named Brother Francis frequently spoke with her and gave her instructions. She also visited multiple fortunetellers who told her that she was soon to meet a mysterious man who was tall with light hair and a fair complexion, descriptions which were fairly close to Marshall Applewhite's appearance.[2] Nettles also studied astrology, Theosophy, and the occult.
Nettles met Marshall Applewhite in March 1972, though where they met is uncertain. In his writings, Applewhite claimed to have been "visiting a hospitalized friend when Mrs. Nettles entered the room and their eyes locked in a shared recognition of esoteric secrets." However, Applewhite's writings were prone to hyperbole or relaying everything as some occurrence of fate. Terrie Nettles, Bonnie's daughter, worked at a theater where Applewhite produced weekend children's shows and taught in an in-house drama school. She has stated that "someone got hurt at the drama school in the theater that Herff [Applewhite] worked at. Herff accompanied the injured person to the hospital where he met Bonnie."[2] Joe Nettles, one of Bonnie's sons, wasn't entirely sure how they met or whether their first meeting was at the theater.[3]
Nettles agreed to perform an astrological reading for Applewhite. They had an almost instantaneous "spiritual" connection; Applewhite decided that Nettles was "to be the sage, he the speaker." They left together on New Year's Day of 1973. Nettles' three youngest children were left to remain with their father, while her oldest daughter, Terrie, then aged 20 and skeptical of her mother's ideas, fended for herself.[4] Nettles and Applewhite established Heaven's Gate together as equals, with Nettles running the group and Applewhite speaking for her. Nettles claimed to have communicated with aliens about the Next Level and told Applewhite to tell their followers. In 1976, Applewhite recognized Nettles as higher up on the level of command than he was.
Death
Many events passed in creation of the Heaven's Gate group and the formation of its core members, with Nettles continuing to act as the interpreter of signs and the mystic of the group. In 1983, she had to have an eye removed due to cancer, and her doctor informed her that the disease was already spreading through the rest of her body. Nettles stated that the doctor was ignorant and believed, along with Applewhite, that she could not die, as they had to ascend together. The cancer continued to worsen, moving to her liver. Nettles died on June 19, 1985, at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. While there as a patient, she used the pseudonym Shelly West.[2][5]
Applewhite convinced the rest of the group that Nettles' "broken-down vehicle was left behind". He had her body cremated and her ashes were then spread upon a lake somewhere in Texas.[2] Applewhite explained to the group that Nettles had left because her work was done on this level but that he himself still had more that he had to do. Applewhite also said that Nettles would continue to help them from the Next Level.
Scholars have viewed the death of Nettles as a key turning point in the history of Heaven's Gate, as it caused the theology to shift from a belief that they would physically ascend to heaven while alive aboard a UFO to viewing the body as merely a "vehicle" for the soul which would be discarded upon entering heaven, which would culminate in the group's mass suicide in 1997.[6]
^ ab"On This Day: Bodies of Heaven's Gate Cult Members Discovered After Mass Suicide". findingdulcinea.com. March 26, 2011.
^ abcdefBearak, Barry (April 28, 1997). "Eyes on Glory: Pied Pipers of Heaven's Gate". nytimes.com. p. 2.
^Dalton, Red (March 29, 1977). "Tragedy Painful, Familiar to Man Who Lost Mom to Applewhite Cult". San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego, California. p. A11.
^Bearak, Barry (April 28, 1997). "Eyes on Glory: Pied Pipers of Heaven's Gate". nytimes.com. p. 4.
^Zeller, Benjamin Heaven's Gate, America's UFO Religion, 2014, p. 113
^Zeller, Benjamin Ethan (November 1, 2006). "Scaling Heaven's Gate: Individualism and Salvation in a New Religious Movement". Nova Religio. 10 (2): 75–102. doi:10.1525/nr.2006.10.2.75. ISSN 1092-6690.
^Phillips, Jim (March 29, 1997). "Central Texas was cult's early recruiting ground". Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas. p. A10.
February 18, 2023
bonnie, nettles, bonnie, nettles, born, trousdale, august, 1927, june, 1985, later, known, founder, leader, with, marshall, applewhite, heaven, gate, religious, movement, nettles, died, melanoma, metastatic, liver, 1985, dallas, texas, twelve, years, before, g. Bonnie Lu Nettles born Trousdale August 29 1927 June 19 1985 later known as Ti was co founder and co leader with Marshall Applewhite of the Heaven s Gate new religious movement Nettles died of melanoma metastatic to the liver in 1985 in Dallas Texas twelve years before the group s mass suicide in March 1997 1 Bonnie NettlesBornBonnie Lu Trousdale 1927 08 29 August 29 1927Houston Texas U S DiedJune 19 1985 1985 06 19 aged 57 Dallas Texas U S Other namesTi Peep Pig Shelly WestOccupationRegistered nurseKnown forCo leader of Heaven s GateSpouseJoseph Segal Nettles m 1949 div 1973 wbr Children4 Contents 1 Early life 2 Introduction to Applewhite 3 Death 4 Nicknames 5 ReferencesEarly life EditBonnie Nettles was born on August 29 1927 and raised in Houston Texas into a Baptist family 2 As an adult she moved away from the religion After becoming a registered nurse she married businessman Joseph Segal Nettles in December 1949 with whom she had four children Their marriage remained mostly stable until 1972 at which time according to The New York Times she began attempting to contact deceased spirits by conducting regular seances and came to believe that a 19th century monk named Brother Francis frequently spoke with her and gave her instructions She also visited multiple fortunetellers who told her that she was soon to meet a mysterious man who was tall with light hair and a fair complexion descriptions which were fairly close to Marshall Applewhite s appearance 2 Nettles also studied astrology Theosophy and the occult Introduction to Applewhite EditMain article Marshall Applewhite Nettles met Marshall Applewhite in March 1972 though where they met is uncertain In his writings Applewhite claimed to have been visiting a hospitalized friend when Mrs Nettles entered the room and their eyes locked in a shared recognition of esoteric secrets However Applewhite s writings were prone to hyperbole or relaying everything as some occurrence of fate Terrie Nettles Bonnie s daughter worked at a theater where Applewhite produced weekend children s shows and taught in an in house drama school She has stated that someone got hurt at the drama school in the theater that Herff Applewhite worked at Herff accompanied the injured person to the hospital where he met Bonnie 2 Joe Nettles one of Bonnie s sons wasn t entirely sure how they met or whether their first meeting was at the theater 3 Nettles agreed to perform an astrological reading for Applewhite They had an almost instantaneous spiritual connection Applewhite decided that Nettles was to be the sage he the speaker They left together on New Year s Day of 1973 Nettles three youngest children were left to remain with their father while her oldest daughter Terrie then aged 20 and skeptical of her mother s ideas fended for herself 4 Nettles and Applewhite established Heaven s Gate together as equals with Nettles running the group and Applewhite speaking for her Nettles claimed to have communicated with aliens about the Next Level and told Applewhite to tell their followers In 1976 Applewhite recognized Nettles as higher up on the level of command than he was Death EditMany events passed in creation of the Heaven s Gate group and the formation of its core members with Nettles continuing to act as the interpreter of signs and the mystic of the group In 1983 she had to have an eye removed due to cancer and her doctor informed her that the disease was already spreading through the rest of her body Nettles stated that the doctor was ignorant and believed along with Applewhite that she could not die as they had to ascend together The cancer continued to worsen moving to her liver Nettles died on June 19 1985 at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas Texas While there as a patient she used the pseudonym Shelly West 2 5 Applewhite convinced the rest of the group that Nettles broken down vehicle was left behind He had her body cremated and her ashes were then spread upon a lake somewhere in Texas 2 Applewhite explained to the group that Nettles had left because her work was done on this level but that he himself still had more that he had to do Applewhite also said that Nettles would continue to help them from the Next Level Scholars have viewed the death of Nettles as a key turning point in the history of Heaven s Gate as it caused the theology to shift from a belief that they would physically ascend to heaven while alive aboard a UFO to viewing the body as merely a vehicle for the soul which would be discarded upon entering heaven which would culminate in the group s mass suicide in 1997 6 Nicknames EditApplewhite and Nettles went by the collective of The Two as well as the singular names Bo and Peep respectively 7 and later Do and Ti 1 along with Guinea and Pig at some points in time 2 References Edit a b On This Day Bodies of Heaven s Gate Cult Members Discovered After Mass Suicide findingdulcinea com March 26 2011 a b c d e f Bearak Barry April 28 1997 Eyes on Glory Pied Pipers of Heaven s Gate nytimes com p 2 Dalton Red March 29 1977 Tragedy Painful Familiar to Man Who Lost Mom to Applewhite Cult San Diego Union Tribune San Diego California p A11 Bearak Barry April 28 1997 Eyes on Glory Pied Pipers of Heaven s Gate nytimes com p 4 Zeller Benjamin Heaven s Gate America s UFO Religion 2014 p 113 Zeller Benjamin Ethan November 1 2006 Scaling Heaven s Gate Individualism and Salvation in a New Religious Movement Nova Religio 10 2 75 102 doi 10 1525 nr 2006 10 2 75 ISSN 1092 6690 Phillips Jim March 29 1997 Central Texas was cult s early recruiting ground Austin American Statesman Austin Texas p A10 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bonnie Nettles amp oldid 1139410198, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
