From 1982 to 1996, Jessie Hamilton worked as a chef at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at Louisiana State University. During that time, she didn’t just feed up to 100 young men, five days a week. She also would listen to the fraternity brothers and help them work through their problems.
Well, those men didn’t forget about Jessie and the impact she had on their lives. They pitched in paid off her mortgage.
On the day of her 74th birthday, friends and family -- along with some of the fraternity brothers -- gathered to surprise her at her home. They presented her with a $45,000 check to pay off the mortgage and another check for almost $7000 for herself.
The fraternity brother who led the campaign, Andrew Fusaiotti, explained that she was “truly like a mother” to the guys.
Jessie agreed, saying, “They were my kids. They still are.”
And all these years later, the men she took care of were able to step up and take care of her.