BATON ROUGE, La. — She made their meals at an LSU fraternity Three decades later, a group of alumni cooked up a heartwarming plan to pay her back.
About a dozen members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity surprised Jessie Hamilton on her 74th birthday on Saturday, handing her some gifts -- including a check to pay off her mortgage, The Advocate of Baton Rouge reported.
“That shows how they all felt about her,” Fusaiotti told the newspaper. “Jessie is one of these people that shows up to work and always has a smile on her face, eager to please and never complains.”
Andrew Fusaiotti, who attended LSU from 1987 to 1989, coordinated an effort that raised $51,765 for Hamilton, the newspaper reported. That included $45,000 to pay her mortgage, $6,675 for her personal account and the balance for commemorative T-shirts proclaiming “Jessie Hamilton Day.” Ninety brothers contributed to the fund, each donating between $600 and $1,000, The Advocate reported.
Hamilton worked for 14 years as a cook for the “Fijis” before taking her current job in custodial services at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport.
In a Fiji-style game of “Let’s Make a Deal,” the brothers on Saturday presented Hamilton with prizes from behind three “doors,” opened by her children.
That included the T-shirts and the two checks. Hamilton said she will be able to retire, and as soon as it is safe for her to travel, she will take a vacation in Hawaii, The Advocate reported.
“She is the type of person that inspires me, people that don’t have a lot, but give a lot,” Fusaiotti told the newspaper. “She’s the most giving person you’ve ever met.”
“This has been a blessing to me,” Hamilton said after her party. “I have been worrying about how I was going to pay my house off. I am grateful for what God has done and has led them to do for me.”