As a Mother’s Day gift, Terry Lee Joseph decided to provide moms in his community with a homemade meal at no cost at all. The Waveland resident woke up as early as 4 a.m. to prepare the food in his kitchen.
His motivation was simple. “When God is good to you, you be good to other people,” he told WLOX.
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This was Joseph’s third year of serving free meals during Mother’s Day. He purchases all of the ingredients and cooks and serves all day.
People have taken note of Joseph’s charity. According to his friends and neighbors, the yearly gesture has a significant impact.
“He does this every Mother’s Day, and I appreciate it,” neighbor Leslie Wahl remarked. “I would be having Mother’s Day by myself.”
Wahl remarked that her holiday lunch would probably be from a can if it weren’t for Joseph.
“I would be eating SpaghettiOs out the can — Chef Boyardee SpaghettiOs,” she joked. “But Mr. Terry’s much better: crawfish, shrimp, oyster, fish, potato salad, dirty rice.”
According to his friend Charles Gordon, Joseph’s generosity is not surprising.
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“I’m appreciative of what my friend does for the elderly and for the mothers,” Gordon said. “Good cook and a good friend.”
Joseph emphasized, however, that he did it out of passion more than for recognition. He went on to say that his effort is worthwhile whenever he sees someone enjoying the dinner.
“It’s a passion, it’s a passion from long back,” he said. “I have always loved to feed people.”
“To see the smiles on people’s faces from my meals, you know,” he continued.
