Jeanne Gethra Mills-Towns
Jeanne rides the WAVES: Growing up in the Delta, serving, and returning home.
The Great Depression (1929-1939) was one of the several periods in American history that saw the migration of hundreds of thousands of Americans into the state of California, each of these immigrants clinging to the hope that they could possibly sustain their families and reinvigorate their livelihoods by working the Delta’s rich farmlands. Jeanne Mills-Towns, a World War II veteran and a native of San Joaquin County, was one of many children whose parents left their lives behind to become farmers during the Great Depression.
Born on April 6, 1922 in Lockeford, California, a small farming community located 30 miles north of Stockton, Mills spent most of her adolescence helping out around her parents’ ranch as they tried immensely to stay on the right side of a thin line between poverty and financial security. Mills knew very little about the privileges being afforded to upper-middle class children her age – children that had much more noble California heritages. She, along with children raised in the same Delta conditions, were generally only destined for one of two things, continuing a life of farming, or joining the military. Fortunately, after years of agonizing under the most severe economic depression the Western world had ever known, the Mills’ met with relative success, enabling them to move to Stockton, California in 1935 and provide their daughter with a real education before she ultimately decided to enlist in the armed forces.
Mills immediately attended St. Mary’s High School where she quickly gained a sincere admiration from her classmates. “She was, after all, an attractive young woman which also gained her popularity among many of the young men at St. Mary’s.” After she finished high school, Mills aspired to continue her education and later enrolled at the University of the Pacific. However, shortly thereafter, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Having become emotionally stirred by this ruthless attack, Mills finally decided that she was not going to stand idly by as America entered WWII. In 1942, she enlisted into the United States Naval Women’s Reserve, better known as “Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service,” or WAVES. A naval branch made up entirely of women, WAVES was created in order to allow the Navy to compensate for its widespread deployment of active-duty men overseas.
After enlisting, Mills underwent basic training and was later stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco where she served as a secretary. After her term as a WAVES enlistee expired in 1946, she moved back to Stockton to finish her education at the University of the Pacific. After her graduation, Mills landed a job at Pacific Bell Telephone Company in Stockton where she became a supervisor and even went on to work for the company for 30 years.
Jeanne was also a memeber of the board at the Hagan Museum in Stockton Ca, which she spent much of her time serving as a docent giving tours to student from all over the area. She also loved to volunteer at St. Mary's Dining Room and homeless shelter, making sure she gave back to her community and comforting those who needed it. After giving the remaining years of her life to Stockton and its community, Jeanne passed away in 2015 at 93 years old.
This amazing woman is truly an inspiration for all people, not just those in the Delta region. The devotion to her country during a time of war is a characteristic that Jeanne learned from growing up in the Delta and the lifestlye she experienced. Jeanne lived through some of our countries most trying times and learned to adapt to any situation. The combination and influence of both serving in the WAVES and living in the Delta is what made this woman the epitome of Delta culture, we should all attempt to emulate her service not only to her country but her community as well.
Jeanne, you will be mised.