‘A tremendous blessing to me’: Mother’s Day special for local mom

Published 4:00 pm Saturday, May 11, 2019

Susie Brown’s house has always been a “house filled with love,” which she attributes to the decision to become a foster parent.

Brown, a native of Macon, moved to Dalton 38 years ago to work at the Dalton Community Center, now the Mack Gaston Community Center, as assistant director. She has worked at Dalton First United Methodist Church for 24 years as director of leisure and recreation.

Brown said she was driving through Atlanta one day listening to a pastor on the radio talk about the need for foster and adoptive parents in Georgia.

“He said there were over 5,000 kids in foster care at the time and not enough homes in Georgia,” she said. “They were sending kids to other states to be taken care of.”

Brown, who didn’t have any children, said she felt the need to help. After praying about whether to become a foster parent, she registered at the Whitfield County Division of Family and Children Services. In the 28 years since that decision Brown has fostered 18 children and adopted five. She said some children stayed in her home one day, while others stayed longer. Brothers John and Jacob Brown found their “forever home.”

“I initially had selected a little girl to adopt, but she was already placed in a home,” Susie Brown recalls. She then selected a girl and boy, but they too were already placed.

“I thought this is not what God wants me to do,” Brown said.

Around the same time, Martha Chastain, a former case worker at the Whitfield County Division of Family and Children Services, received a new folder with pictures of children available to adopt. Brown said when she opened the folder, a picture of John and Jacob were the first thing she saw.

“They were 3 (Jacob) and 4 (John) at the time,” Brown said. “That is where the process of adopting began.”

The boys were adopted in 1992, followed by Jeffery Brown in 1997 and brothers Nathan and Bradley Brown in 2009.

Now adults, John, 32; Jacob, 31; Jeffery, 22; Nathan, 21; and Bradley, 20, praise the woman who changed their lives.

“My mom is the best woman I’ve ever met,” John Brown said. “She has a passion for kids and no matter what she does, she gives a hundred percent.”

John Brown said his mom does more for others than anyone else.

“She’s a giving person, that’s how she was raised,” he said.

John Brown said Mother’s Day is one of his favorite holidays to spend with his mom.

“I wasn’t raised in the best situations in my hometown of Savannah,” he said. “I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for my mom adopting me.”

He said he’s in contact with his biological family and has a “good relationship” with his biological mother.

“Susie Brown is my only mother,” he said. “She sacrificed so much for us, she’s my best friend.”

Susie Brown said all five men are truly her sons.

“I remember when I adopted John and Jacob, people said they look just like me,” she said. “I’d tell them ‘Of course, those are my boys.'”

She said adopting has been “rewarding and challenging” due to being a single parent.

She said she tried to make sure her sons were surrounded by positive men. The late Dick Causby, Bob Hardaway and William Hawkins were a few.

“Those guys were like dads to them,” she said. “Bob took them on family trips and they experienced a lot because of people in this community.”

Hawkins met Susie Brown through his wife Pam about 25 years ago. He said she is a strict, firm and fair mother who did “everything in love.”

“It feels good to know she views me as a positive male figure,” he said. “I’ve known the older boys since they were 5 and 6.”

Hawkins said his son Kareem and Brown’s children were raised together like brothers.

Susie Brown said she recalls one year struggling to pay bills.

“I didn’t know how I would provide Christmas for my boys,” she said. “I’m not one to ask, but a family volunteered to buy gifts for them.”

She said they bought everything from video games to belts.

“Everyone had everything they wanted,” she said. “I’ll never forget it.”

She said it’s “neat” how God meets needs.

“My boys have been a tremendous blessing to me,” she said. “I can’t even imagine not having them.”

She also has four grandchildren: Aiden, Ahnara, Emarie and Zaydin.

Lexi Brown, her daughter-in-law, calls her “one amazing woman.”

“She raised John to be a wonderful husband,” Lexi Brown said. “She deserves many more blessings.”

To mom, with love

“Mom, you adopting me is the best thing that ever happened in my life. You taught me how to put God first, love others and myself. I couldn’t ask for a better woman for God to allow to call mom. I love you for everything you’ve done for me.” — John Brown

“Mom, words cannot express how much you mean to my brothers and I. We would not be where we are in life without your guidance and patience. Thanks for being the best mother in the world to us.” — Jacob Brown

“I thank God every day for blessing me with an angel for a mother. You are my mother and father in one. You taught me love, loyalty and how to be a man. I will thank you many times but I could never thank you enough. I love you with all my heart and soul. Happy Mother’s Day to the most deserving.” — Jeffery Brown

“You were the turning point in my life and the reason I’m where I am. I cannot begin to explain how much you really mean to me. You have always been there for me through all the good and bad. You’re the absolute biggest blessing in my life and you’ll always have a place in my heart. Happy Mother’s Day to the best mother out there.” — Nathan Brown

“I am very thankful for you adopting me, it really changed my life for the best. I would like to thank you for being so hard on me because it has shown me that I can do anything I want in life as long as I keep working hard. Happy Mother’s Day!” — Bradley Brown