Learning the story behind the smile: Elease Kidd

“Try to be nice to everybody… my grandma always told me, ‘you be nice to people they’ll be nice back to you.'”

Elease Kidd has worked at THS for almost two decades preparing food in the cafeteria. Kidd is a relatively reserved person, although she grew up in a household of 20 people.

Her favorite aspect of the day is being able to go home, where she spends most of her time watching television or playing with her two dogs. However, her simple daily life does not reflect the extent of her emotional background.

“Before I got married, I took care of my momma and grandma. My momma died of cancer in 2000. I was in the room with my momma when she died. My aunt died 22 days later. I was in the room with her, too. And then one night, I woke up and found my grandma in the bed dead.”

At first, these losses affected Kidd tremendously, but now she just sees it as “life” and carries on because of her faith.

“Sooner or later [death] is coming. I put it in the Lord’s hands. He gives me the strength to carry on.”

Despite all she has been through, she still manages to stay positive. A stranger would not know how much pain she has experienced by looking at her; she is always smiling.

“I love being happy,” she said.

A place where Kidd’s happiness is maximized is in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Everybody there seems like they’re the same people. Everyone treats you the same down there. The majority of people I met there are nice people, even the motel people.”

Her own name, ‘Elease,’ comes from a story of love.

“My uncle was in the service and he met this woman in Germany, during World War II. Her name was Elease. He came home and told my sister, ‘I want you to name your daughter Elease.'”

Today, Kidd lives with her husband and two dogs, also known as her “babies.”

Kidd couldn’t stop laughing as she told the story of her German Shepard befriending a deer.

“I guess the deer thought [the dog] was his mama. Dog would let the deer eat out of his bowl. I tried to run the deer off, but it wouldn’t leave, and the dog started barking at me. The deer laid out there all day. I guess the deer was too weak to walk, every time he’d fall over, the dog would come up behind him and pick him right back up and boot him across the yard.”

Kidd has depended on her own faith to pick her up at times, as she continues to serve a quick, quiet smile to Tunstall students.