Maisie Rosalind was born 18 Apr 1916 in Pavo, Thomas County, Georgia, the fourth of five siblings to Asa and Rosa Virginia Stephenson. She is  the only sibling to reach adulthood from Asa's and Rosa's union. Maisie died on 9 Feb 1969 in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, which was on my  brother Mike's birthday, needless to say Mike's birthday wasn't a happy one that year.

 I'm sad to say there's very little I remember about my mama. As a young boy I remember going on vacations with my parents (Euston &  Maisie) every year to Florida visiting different locations each year. We would also take the time to visit my Aunt Hilda's home for a couple of  days while in Florida each year, Aunt Hilda lived in Tampa.

 Mama became sick from breast cancer sometime in 1964/65 and succumbed to the dreaded desease some four-plus years later. During that  period she suffered terribly, with having numerous surgeries plus a left mastectomy. After the doctors told my dad that she couldn't withstand  any more surgeries, my dad got a hospital bed for the house and my mama became bedridden at home and the suffering continued. She  stayed medicated from that time, on. On nights that she felt more comfortable she would check all my homework and give me a verbal spelling  test on that weeks spelling words.

 I remember one day before she became bedridden, mama gave me a chore to do and I refused, bad mistake on my part, she spanked me for  not doing the chore and I laughed at her because she was so weak from her illness the spanking didn't hurt. She said to me and I quote "I'm  telling your father when he gets home" and she did. That spanking I got from daddy was 10% for not doing the chore and 90% for laughing at  my mama, and let me tell you, that was the absolute worst whipping I ever got in my life. My rear-end hurt for a week.

 My mama and daddy were foster parents to countless infants and toddlers for years during my early youth and I commend them for that. It  takes special people to make that kind of committment while raising their own children. My mama died just four days before my fourteenth  birthday, and I often wonder how it would have been if she had survived, and was at my wedding, meeting my kids at birth for the first time  and loving them.
Photo 1965