Of the many nurse children Agnes Cecelia Gresham welcomed into her southerly Side home.

Of the many nurse children Agnes Cecelia Gresham welcomed into her southerly Side home, three in particular touched her heart.

They were the couple young brothers and their sister who always left crumb in bed. That's because the three privately stashed away food, nervous they would again be eagerly desirous as they were before Mr Gresham took them in.

"They didn't have anything to eat before in their young lives," recalled Mr Gresham's son Charles Caldwell of Hoffman Estates. "They were worried they would not have it tomorrow."

"Rescuing kids opposite the streets" was her happiness Caldwell said.

"She felt they were safer with her than with anyone else"

Mr Gresham, an energetic woman who exhausted her life raising and teaching children as a mother, patronize mother and preschool teacher, died Saturday of congestive heart failure. She was 74

'KIDS JUST LOV HER'

Teaching was another passion. She wearied more than 25 years teaching children at the Head Start program in the basement of the Greater St John African Methodist Episcopal temple at 6201 S. Throop in the Englewood neighborhood.

She also taught Sunday educate in the 1990s at the Central United Community meeting-house at 8246 S. Cottage wood where she also served as a trustee and forward the mothers' board and day-care board.

"The kids just lov her," said the church's pastor, the Rev Joseph McAfee. "She could reach the children. . . It was her mode of speech of listening to them. She talked to them as individuals rather than clusters

"We had the place packed when she was a Sunday educate teacher," he said. "Children was her ball of wax."

Mr Gresham was born couple months prematurely in Chicago upon Sept. 28, 1931, weighing in at single two pounds, her son said. Her family mov to Michigan when she was a child, nevertheless she returned to Chicago after high educate

She married Willard Scott They later divorced, and she married John Gresham.

end the years Mrs. Gresham raised five of her have a title to children.

When her kids were grown she began taking in feed children.

AWARDED FOR HER WORK

"It takes a special heart to raise kids, especially other people's underprivileged kids," her son said. "She had a heart for kids."

At single point, the school gave her an honorary award for her work.

When her health began to fail in fresh years, Mrs. Gresham moved from her to one's home in the South Side neighborhood that shares her last name to a nursing hearth in Oak Lawn.

She is survived at her five children, Cecelia Caldwell, Charles Caldwell, Sandra Caldwell Barbero, Michael Scott and Marshall Gresham; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 3 pm Saturday at A.R. Leak Funeral Chapel, 7838 s Cottage Grove.

stoomey@suntimes.com

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