Oseola mccarty biography of donald
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She has always believed in hard work. I am a plain, common person…no better than anybody else…I don’t want to be put up on a pedestal; I want to stay right here on the ground”(48).
She gives her views on life in her book, but she also enjoys life. Using slips of paper and dimes, she set aside one dime (10%) for her church, one dime each (30%) for three of her relatives, and the remaining six dimes (60%) for Southern Miss.
That December, she was in New York, where she flipped the switch on the countdown ball in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Before all the recognition she received, Oseola had never flown on a plane or slept in a hotel room.
More honors followed. McCarty never owned a car, walking everywhere she went and pushing a shopping cart nearly a mile to get groceries.
She says, “…there is time enough for all the things that a person really wants to do. She took in washing and ironing for some of Hattiesburg’s most successful families, quietly working day after day, until arthritis made the work too painful and difficult. Throughout the years, she opened savings accounts in various banks including one at Trustmark National Bank, which she later appointed as the trustee of her trust and executor of her estate.
Employees of Trustmark Bank noticed Oseola’s accumulated savings.
When I was working, I got only three or four hours of sleep each night. All through her life she has taken pride in her work, had faith in God, and saved her money. The things that make life interesting. Then President Bill Clinton presented her with a Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian award, during a special ceremony at the White House.
Mississippi Legends: Oseola McCarty, an unlikely philanthropist
- During her life, Oseola lived frugally, never spending money on things she didn’t need. Her social life centered on her church and her Bible.
Living so frugally, McCarty saved much of the money she earned, and at age eighty-seven, she decided to donate most of her savings to help Southern Miss students achieve the educational goals that she had long ago abandoned.
It was an honorable trade, but certainly not a career to attain great wealth. She informed them of her desire to give some of her money to her church, some to her family, and $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, her home town! She received money from her mother and aunt when they died, and instead of spending it, she saved it.
Oseola never married or had children.
On October 8, 2020, the University of Southern Mississippi Foundation honored the life and legacy of Oseola McCarty in recognition of her unexpected generous gift to USM in a virtual celebration featuring interviews with special guests and the unveiling of a sculpture of the unassuming washerwoman which now sits proudly in front of a dormitory building that bears her name.
Her belief in the Bible is clear and unwavering. I just wish I had more to give.”
McCarty was born in Shubuta, Mississippi, on 7 March 1908, the only child of Lucy McCarty. I was consistent” (17).