# Fraternity members pay off mortgage for former cook (Add your own uplifting story) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931 "2021-04-13T22:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/1 "2021-04-13T22:11:02Z")
> **[A cook at a frat house was like a mother to the members. Years later, they...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/04/13/fraternity-cook-mortgage-lsu/)** > > “They were my kids. They still are,” said Jessie Hamilton, who was a cook at the Louisiana State University fraternity for 14 years. > Jessie Hamilton worked as a cook at a fraternity house at Louisiana State University for 14 years. > > While she was in constant motion preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner for the members of Phi Gamma Delta, commonly called Fiji, she was widely known to lend an ear when one of the young men needed her advice or care. > … > More than 30 years later, he and his fraternity brothers returned the favor. > > On April 3, just before her 74th birthday, a dozen Fiji members and their families surprised Hamilton with an outdoor celebration at her home in Baton Rouge and presented her with a gift of $51,765. > > Nearly 100 Fiji brothers contributed money to cover the outstanding balance of Hamilton’s mortgage — and then some — so she could finally retire. Hamilton was speechless. > … They gave her the money for her 74th birthday. Ninety-one guys contributed an average of $500+ each. Some are in their 50s and brought their kids to the event. I’ve probably quoted more than I’m allowed to… but this story is so good and it’s paywalled. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lsY1DtOuows/maxresdefault.jpg "Jessie Hamilton Day, April 3rd, 2021") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsY1DtOuows) Usually warm-fuzzy threads tank quickly in this tough crowd, but if anyone wants to add any other stories to this thread, please do. I need them, and others probably do, too. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/2 "2021-04-13T22:54:20Z")
That is a wonderful story. For my uplifting story, a good friend of mine in a management position at a nearby community college discovered that an immigrant line cook at the school cafeteria was a professional accountant in her home country. My friend told her about, and encouraged her to apply for, an open accounting job at the college, which she applied for and got. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/3 "2021-04-13T22:56:55Z")
Wow. That is fantastic! ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/4 "2021-04-13T22:59:26Z")
Let me just say ThelmaLou, I always enjoy your thoughts in the Dope. Thank you so much ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/5 "2021-04-13T23:39:40Z")
Oh my. 😊 I’ve been having a very bad few days and your words made me feel really good. Thank you. I’m not crying, _you’re_ crying… ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/6 "2021-04-13T23:55:32Z")
'tis a pleasure and an honour. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/7 "2021-04-13T23:58:05Z")
I have no uplifting story to share, but I enjoyed reading this. Thank you for sharing it, @ThelmaLou. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/8 "2021-04-14T01:59:44Z")
I love stories like this. Thanks for posting it. I’ll have to share it with my dad - he was a Fiji at North Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/9 "2021-04-14T08:42:57Z")
Uplifting and positive though the story is, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad about this: > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > so she could finally retire Still working away in her seventies to pay off debts. 🙁 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraternity-members-pay-off-mortgage-for-former-cook-add-your-own-uplifting-story/939931/10 "2021-04-14T10:42:00Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Still working away in her seventies to pay off debts Yes. I couldn’t help but wonder if the stark choice was ‘pension her off or fire her’.