A customer walks into Walgreens expecting to pick up a prescription. Instead, they often leave with something else: a hug, a listening ear or a few words of encouragement.
For Ms. Yvonne “Nana” Francis, caring for people has never ended when the workday does. Whether raising four children, operating an in-home daycare for nearly 40 years, helping customers at the pharmacy or guiding her granddaughters, she has spent a lifetime showing up for others.
Born and raised in Overtown, a historic Black neighborhood in Miami, Ms. Francis grew up during segregation, where being biracial shaped many of her earliest experiences. Her father was white, her mother was Black, and as a child with blonde hair, she often became the target of teasing.
“My mom started dyeing my hair with coffee,” Ms. Francis recalled.
Although her mother struggled with health issues, Ms. Francis found stability in the women who helped raise her. She credits her grandmother and, most notably, her godmother, Anne McRae, with teaching her compassion, responsibility and faith. Those lessons became the foundation of her life.
Education quickly became one of her greatest passions. After schools were integrated, she attended summer classes and earned enough credits to graduate a year early.
“I always went to school, even during the summertime because I enjoyed education,” she said.
Before graduating, however, life took an unexpected turn. At just 14 years old, Ms. Francis became a mother.
Her daughter attended her high school graduation, only a year and a half old. Today, that same daughter has earned both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA and owns two businesses, accomplishments Ms. Francis views as proof that difficult beginnings do not determine where life will end.
Motherhood meant growing up quickly, but it never stopped her ambitions. She attended college for two years to study computer programming before choosing to devote herself to raising her family.
As her family grew, caring for others became her life’s work. After raising four children, she opened an in-home daycare, where she spent nearly four decades caring for children from families of many different backgrounds.
“I loved it,” she said. “I had different cultures, different kids. I cooked for them, I bathed them, and when their moms and dads picked them up, they were clean.”
By her late 20s, Ms. Francis faced another challenge. Diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes and asthma, she eventually weighed nearly 400 pounds. Walking became difficult, breathing became exhausting, and she relied on oxygen wherever she went.
“The girls kept saying, ‘Nana, we want to go to Disney.’ I told them, ‘If Nana loses the weight and she’s able to walk around the park, we’ll go,’” she said.
Determined to keep that promise, Ms. Francis began exercising, walking and changing her lifestyle before undergoing weight-loss surgery. By the time of the procedure, she had already lost 45 pounds. She ultimately lost more than 180 pounds, reclaiming both her health and independence.
After more than 20 years away from the workforce, Ms. Francis returned to work because she wanted another opportunity to serve others.
“I wanted to give back to people,” she said. “I didn’t have help raising my kids, but I wanted to still help others and still be a support for them because it takes a village.”
Today, she works as a senior pharmacy technician at Walgreens.
“Some of them are sad, some of them are hurting, some of them just need a hug,” she said.
That desire to care for others was tested once again when tragedy struck her family. Two of her daughters, Kendra and Brittany, died just 35 days apart.
“I never questioned God why my daughters are gone.”
Instead, Ms. Francis leaned on the faith that had sustained her throughout her life. Although the pain remains, she has found purpose in helping raise the granddaughters her daughters left behind.
“The smiles that I see from both of my granddaughters… those keep me going.”
Today, one granddaughter attends Howard University while the other plans to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design after graduating from high school. Watching them pursue their dreams has become one of the greatest joys of her life.
Even after everything she has endured, Ms. Francis chooses gratitude over bitterness, believing her life is defined not by loss, but by the people she has loved and the lives she has touched.
More than anything, she hopes her granddaughters will remember not only the hardships she endured, but the faith that carried her through them.
“Life is always a test, and the test is always a testimony,” she said. “I’m happy with how the cards of life have been dealt to me. I just have to learn how to win the game, and I’ll do it with a smile.”
Based on reporting by The Carolinian.
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