Perseverance One who has overcome personal adversity
Darene M. Smith
Nominated by Lizette G. Fatheree
Lizette says, “The one word description of my mother is ‘phenomenal.’ My mother is an outstandingly strong woman. During my childhood, I can remember the terrible abuse she endured from my father while trying to raise four girls to believe in a good life. She made us all go to college and instilled in us great morals and values. In her older age, she single-handedly took on the responsibility of caring for her elderly mother. It became nearly impossible to keep her mother in our house, so she moved to my grandmother’s house until her death. Now free to be herself, at 75-years old, she sits with the sick, has a job feeding senior citizens, is active in church and church functions, and still gives her children all she has. My mother is the caretaker, the caregiver, and the lover of all souls.”
Lizette says, “The one word description of my mother is ‘phenomenal.’ My mother is an outstandingly strong woman. During my childhood, I can remember the terrible abuse she endured from my father while trying to raise four girls to believe in a good life. She made us all go to college and instilled in us great morals and values. In her older age, she single-handedly took on the responsibility of caring for her elderly mother. It became nearly impossible to keep her mother in our house, so she moved to my grandmother’s house until her death. Now free to be herself, at 75-years old, she sits with the sick, has a job feeding senior citizens, is active in church and church functions, and still gives her children all she has. My mother is the caretaker, the caregiver, and the lover of all souls.”