Jill Mellick

August 29, 1948 - December 20, 2022

Jill Mellick, Ph.D. (Letty Jill), author of publications in many fields, multimedia artist, loved and respected Jungian psychologist in Silicon Valley and Professor Emerita, passed away on December 20, 2022. Hers was a life filled with passions; her longest and finest was for life itself.

Australian by birth and upbringing, she was born in Brisbane to Dr. JSD Mellick, OAM, ED, and Letty Katts, a pianist and composer of such iconic Australian ballads as “Never Never” and “A Town Like Alice”.

Jill attended Somerville House, and then the University of Queensland, where she studied English Literature and French. She then used her honors scholarship to go to New Guinea to live with the Foré and Atzera tribes, and to see where her father had spent time during the war.

In 1975 she moved to Palo Alto, California, and enrolled in a doctoral program in Clinical Psychology doing field work with Pueblo Indian communities in New Mexico. She loved her private practice, specializing in working with international executives, professionals, and academics for 30 years.

She also was a halftime Full Professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (later Sofia University) beginning her 22year tenure as Director of Doctoral Research designing new, cross-disciplinary research methodologies. Her lifetime interest in the role of creative expression in psycho-spiritual healing and development continued through her publications, and her underwriting of awards to democratize access to the expressive arts: at Sofia University; Somerville House in Australia; the Mellick Shutes Award for a traditional artist through the South Western Association for Indian Arts and Crafts; the Letty Katts Award (with her father, Dr. JSD Mellick, OAM, ED) for contributions to Australian Music; and the JSD Mellick Fellowship through the State Library of Queensland, Australia.

Her many publications include The Worlds of P’otsunu, co-authored with Jeanne Shutes; The Art of Dreaming; and Coming Home to Myself, co-authored with Marion Woodman.

Most recently, Scheidegger & Spiess published her ground-breaking discoveries of Carl Jung’s art materials and creative process in The Red Book Hours. She earned the trust, support and respect of Jung’s descendants and the book is widely considered as a necessary companion to The Red Book itself. Her final publication was There You Are.

Her travels, love of beauty, and experimentation with media were constant inspiration for her landscapes and abstract art. She regularly exhibited through galleries and directly sold to private collectors internationally. She and Dr. Jeanne Shutes traveled to over thirty countries, returning often to Kyoto, Greece, Switzerland, France, Kaua’i, Santa Fe, and Australia.

A naturally private woman and raised conservatively, she was unusually open to unconventional surprises from her heart and to unique connections. She nurtured long, rich relationships with two male companions, but chose to share daily life for forty-two years with her soulmate, Dr. Jeanne Shutes of Palo Alto -- best friend, critic, muse, travel companion and co-author.

Jill weathered with dignity, dry humor and collaborative creativity, serious medical crises throughout her adulthood. Jeanne preceded her in death, during Jill’s last illness.

She was an honorary family member for many. She is survived by blood relatives, extended family, close friends on four continents, and those who carry her, her creative gifts, wisdom, love of beauty, and inspiration in their hearts and lives. Each carry the love and growth which their time with her generated and by extension, the thousands their lives touch. Her spirit lives on in the inner and outer creative lives of each.

A small memorial, for extended family only, will be privately held. If you wish to make a donation in Jill’s memory, she supported Nova Ukraine and The International Rescue Committee.