“Love everyone,” advised Winnie Donald. “No matter what color they are, you need to love them. That’s what God wants us to do—love everybody.”
Winnie has a heart filled with compassion and truly loves those around her.
Growing up, she learned about the importance of working hard and loving others from her family.
“I was raised by my great grandmother,” Winnie reminisced. “I remember walking to church at the time because they didn’t drive many cars out there where I’m from in Langsdale. My grandmother always had me in the field in the summer time. Other children were out playing, but I had to be out in the field farming and picking peas and all that.”
Her grandmother was also the one who taught her how to cook; however, her first experiences in the kitchen weren’t very successful.
“My grandmother taught me how to cook when I was six years old,” remembered Winnie. “I made biscuits, and they turned out hard as a rock. I tried to do them like she did, but when they were done she told me I didn’t do something right.”
Once she graduated from high school, Winnie moved up north and continued her education and started working at a hospital.
“I went to school here in Clarke County and graduated in 1980 and then went to Chicago where my mother was,” recalled Winnie. “I went to college there and went into the nursing program and was an LPN. I worked in an emergency room at a hospital.”
She eventually came back to Clarke County to take care of her great grandmother and started a new job working at the nursing home.
“I stayed in Chicago for eight years and then came back because my great grandmother was getting up in age. Someone needed to stay with her, so I gave up what I was doing and came back to take care of her since she took care of me. She was 103 years old when she passed,” expressed Winnie. “When I first came back, I got a job to support myself a little and then look after her when I got off. When she was put in a nursing home somewhere else in Mississippi, I put in an application at Lakeside and have now been here for 19 years.”
Her job at the nursing home changed over time. The only thing that hasn’t changed is how much she loves her job and all of the residents she is able to see each day.
“I started working in the laundry at first. I did laundry for about two years,” explained Winnie. “Then, another position came open, and I’ve been the activity director since then. I love it because the residents are like family. They look forward to seeing you and give you hope. I just love what I do. I love to go out shopping and will sometimes buy things to bring back for them. I’ll read to them, take them to church, and do different things that they like to do. It’s a wonderful job. Everybody has a purpose, and I thank God for giving me that purpose.”
Outside of her job, she is usually at her church or shopping if she isn’t home. She is the secretary at the church she attends and still has the same love of attending church that she had as a young girl.
With each day that goes by, Winnie continues to show love to the elderly at Diversicare in Quitman. Her bright smile and kind words will always make those around her more joyful.
If you would like to nominate someone for Person of the Week, contact Brittney Mangum at 601-776-3726.
