Daughter buys mom home

Doctor surprises parent with new $350,000 house after years of robberies in crime-ridden neighborhood

Web posted July 16, 2000

 Have a thought? Go to the @ugusta Forums.

By Melissa Hall
Columbia County Bureau

Dr. Anita Jackson wanted to pay her mother back, to thank her for her years of quiet suffering and hard work, the time and money devoted to her education at the finest schools - Augusta Prep, Princeton, the University of Illinois and Harvard - all on a teacher's salary.

Anita Jackson (right) and her mother, Louise Jackson, have a laugh after Dr. Jackson gave her mother a new home as a gift STAFF

So on Saturday, Louise Jackson, 65, now retired, thought she was going to a surprise housewarming party. She even R.S.V.P.'d and bought a set of dish towels as a gift to the party. But when she walked through the door at 3753 West Lake Drive, she discovered she was the guest of honor at her own housewarming party.

And she got lost on her way home and was an hour and twenty minutes late, keeping nearly 150 guests in suspense. Most didn't know who the party was for. When Ms. Jackson walked into the master bedroom, her close friends and relatives yelled, ``Surprise!''

``I've got the perfect gift for a housewarming,'' Dr. Jackson said as she presented her mother the key to her new home on a Prada key chain.

``I can't believe you people would do this to me,'' her mother said, covering her mouth in amazement. ``I can't believe it. I know what you are saying, but I'm mad with you. I have to thank all of you for cooperating with Trouble,'' she added, referring to her daughter's sneaky way of buying the house and planning the party.

As she walked into her new kitchen, Ms. Jackson met her friend Thelma Williams, a former principal at W.S. Hornsby Elementary School, where Ms. Jackson taught third and fourth grades for 47 years before retiring in 1995. The two had seen each other at church that morning, but Ms. Williams had been evasive about the party.

``You could have told me,'' the new homeowner said to Ms. Williams.

``That's why I tried not to answer your questions,'' Ms. Williams said. ``I didn't want to meet you today because I didn't want to tell you any more tales.''

Dr. Jackson, the chief otolaryngologist at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, N.C., is an only child. The house, she said, is just one small way to repay her mother for all she has done.

``She has been so supportive of me,'' Dr. Jackson said. ``She really sacrificed her own safety and comfort for my education. Now that my own learning is at a level of independence, I wanted to make sure she gained everything she so rightfully deserved.''

Ms. Jackson, a single parent, reared her family in their home at 1308 Steed St. in the Turpin Hill area. The family has been robbed 15 to 20 times while living there, and Ms. Jackson now lives with her sister.

Dr. Jackson said safety was a key issue in finding a new home for her mother and the reason she chose West Lake, a gated community in Columbia County which is guarded 24 hours a day.

``After I got out of school, helping her was the thing that was foremost on my mind,'' Dr. Jackson said. ``Since I started my practice two years ago, it's been very successful, and she should be the one to reap the benefits of it. My father never lived in Augusta, so she was my mother, father, teacher.''

Dr. Jackson closed on the house June 23, but July 15 was the only date on her calendar she had open for months, so she scheduled the housewarming three weeks after closing. She gave her real estate agent, Susan Keller-Lorick, of Century 21 Jeff Keller Realty, and Kim Joselove, of Design on a Dime Interiors, carte blanche in renovating, furnishing and decorating the 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom home.

``When she contacted me, she said, `The house is not for me, it's for my mother,'ƒ'' Ms. Keller-Lorick said Friday as she ushered in workers from Haverty's who were there to deliver the new furniture. ``My mouth fell to the floor. It took us about a year to find a house. We hired an interior decorator to come in and redo everything. I just can't wait to see her face.''

Ms. Joselove has been in business in Augusta for only a year. Getting this job, she said, has been a blessing in more ways than one.

``Everyone knows it's a party, but they just don't know for who,'' Ms. Joselove said. ``They think it's for Dr. Jackson. These people are coming from all over the country and they don't know West Lake from Smesh Lake, and when they drive up and see this $400,000 house and it's furnished - I can't wait to see their faces. I'm just excited to be a part of it.''

The party was planned by Christine Betts, a retired nurse who is executive director of the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, and Ella Jones, vice president of Augusta Technical College. Dr. Jones is also the director of the Augusta Adult Society, sponsor of the Rosa T. Beard Debutante Club. Dr. Jones was a debutante and is the niece of Rosa T. Beard.

``She called me to R.S.V.P. and said, `What should I bring? Last time I went to a housewarming party I took a plant and so did everyone else,'ƒ'' Ms. Betts said as she greeted guests in the foyer while waiting for Ms. Jackson to arrive. ``I told her to bring towels or to buy something that she would like. So she's so excited and all ready with her gift today.

``I've seen her several times this week and she doesn't have a clue.''

The party also was a way for Dr. Jackson to bring her mother's friends and relatives to her new home so that they would feel comfortable visiting her once she moved in.

``Since I'm an only child and live in another city, I thought it was important that my mom's friends were acclimated to the house, too - that it was easy to find and fun, and the party was a way to create good memories and good feelings about it,'' Dr. Jackson said. ``I wanted it to be a safe harbor for my mom, but I wanted my mother's friends not to abandon her. I wanted them to find it to be an open and easily accessible place and I hope this party will do that.''

Reach Melissa Hall at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 113.