When Thelma Harris was just one, her father, Thomas, abandoned her and her mother, Erin.
A cheerful, vibrant woman, Erin was reduced to a desolate soul when Thomas left her, but she fought against the odds for little Thelma, who had a bright future ahead of her.
Professionally, Erin worked as a stewardess on international flights and was frequently away from home, so she couldn’t care for Thelma all the time.
As such, she placed her in an orphanage run by the town’s church near her home in Atlanta, Georgia.
Erin herself was an orphan, raised in an orphanage run by a Catholic church in Atlanta, and had attended a community school.