Published: April 08, 2009 03:06 pm      

Unsung hero finds her calling

Everyone searches for their true place in life and Mary Flowers, 79, of Orange has found where she wants to be.

“I think this is my calling,” she said.

Flowers started going to the Meadows nursing home following the deaths of her husband of 58 years, William, and her daughter Cathy.

Following the tragic events, she said “got very down in the dumps” and her doctor suggested she get out and do something. Initially she started going to the nursing home to visit a friend. However, as time went on she found many new friends there.

“When I go out there I get a bigger blessing than they do,” Flowers said. “ I make a new friend everytime I go.”

As she continues to go, her list of friends has increased and now she is up to about 30 new people to visit.

During the holidays or on the residents birthdays, Flowers takes cards to them. At Christmas time she gave all the ladies a card and included a pretty hankerchief. Other times she takes a bag of candy and passes out the sweet treats which are guaranteed to make a person smile. It could be Flowers or the lucky resident.

“I do anything I can for them,” she added.

Sometimes it is as simple as pushing them in their wheel chair or saying a prayer with them.

Recently, her daughter, Margaret Robinson, tagged along with her to visit at the nursing home.

“I went with her and left feeling so blessed,” Robinson said. “My mother is the most giving person I’ve ever known.”