Happy Birthday MaMa

UPDATED

Hi my name is Elton Grissom, this fundraiser was created by myself and my siblings. On January 13, 2023, our mother, Mary (Toliver) Grissom will be 90 years old. In 1962 Mary moved to Newburgh NY to seek a better job opportunity. Mary the mother of 7 children worked diligently to provide for her children. She is and will forever be known for her guidance, wisdom, support, and abundance of love. A plethora of friends, extended family, former neighbors, and even former co-workers affectionately refer to our mother as “Ma” or “Mom”.  With just a 3rd Grade education paired with old fashion common sense that is no longer so common and a deep-rooted ‘ways of knowing’ she managed to provide a home for us that was additionally opened to our friends free of judgment whenever they might’ve fallen on hard times.  Our friends were welcomed and treated no differently than she treated her own.

After 44 years of living in Newburgh with the same phone number and never once subjected to any utilities being shut off, our retired mother sold the house and moved back to Alabama. In observation of Ma’s 90th Birthday her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren have set up a GoFundMe to give Ma her roses while she’s here to smell them by raising funds to brick in her house.