Beloved "Grandma Kemp' provides more than just child care

Grandma Kemp holds two of the children she watches, Mira Joy Garrett, 2, and baby Bryson, 6 months. Kemp has watched more than 75 children in her 20 years providing daycare services in Fulton.
Grandma Kemp holds two of the children she watches, Mira Joy Garrett, 2, and baby Bryson, 6 months. Kemp has watched more than 75 children in her 20 years providing daycare services in Fulton.

There probably aren't too many people who know of 74-year-old Delores Kemp, a Fulton native who moved away with her husband for almost 30 years before returning in 1992.

But practically everyone in town has at least heard of her as prolific daycare provider "Grandma" Kemp. The septuagenarian has watched over 75 children in 20 years, including the kids born to the Brady's Fulton Glass and Paint family and the great grandchild of Jack McBride. The children she still watches give her a hug first thing every morning, and another hug along with an "I love you" every night when their parents come to pick them up. The ones old enough to care for themselves still send her postcards. Some parents even write their checks directly to "Grandma Kemp," which the bank lets her deposit.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.