A former ‘wild child’ searched for the kind foster mom who transformed her life 4 decades ago and found her

Essie Gilchrist became a foster mom when she was 30 years old. While she was only doing this to help the children, she didn’t know she had inspired many with her kindness.

One of these was Hannah Smith, who turned to social media, to try to find her former foster mom.

“I was 12 years old when my mother lost the ability to parent me safely. I was taken from her & put into a huge, scary children’s shelter. It took a long time but they finally found someone who would take in a deeply troubled, rather wild child like me,” Smith wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Smith is now 54 but still can’t forget the woman who touched her life and taught her many things in a short time. She has always wondered about her foster mom, who they used to call “Mama Essie” and thought it would be nice to reconnect with her.

Gilchrist was a military officer and had severe eye issues. At that time, she fostered Smith on her own, with other two children. Smith said she only lived in Gilchrist’s house for a year because she ran away and was put back in the shelter.

Smith confessed that she was stubborn when she was being fostered by Gilchrist. “I stole from her. I ran up her phone bill calling my boyfriend. When she put a lock on the dial-up phone, I broke it. I was a mess & a handful. I’m sure I broke her heart,” shared Smith.

Instead of punishing Smith; however, Gilchrist taught her many things: fashion, makeup, haircare, grace, elegance, generosity, dignity, and love.

As tears welled up in her eyes, Smith remembered and honored a very important person in her past. “Mama Essie, if you’re still with us or peering through the windows of heaven, thank you. From the bottom of my heart,” Smith wrote. “I heard you. I saw you. You made a difference, more than you’ll ever know.”

Smith said that she had tried to find Gilchrist before but with no luck. This time, her search for her foster mom looked promising after her post went viral.

After a few days, Gilchrist found out about Smith’s post when The Record called her and shared screenshots of the post. Gilchrist could not believe that Smith was looking for her.

The other children she fostered reconnected with her but she was shocked about Smith looking for her because the last time they saw each other was in 1984.

In contrast to what Smith said about her being a wild child, Gilchrist has positive memories of her.  “Marie had the most gorgeous red hair,” Gilchrist said. “I never stopped thinking about her.” She also said that Smith was very smart and worked hard with her lessons.

Gilchrist was pretty sure that Smith was doing well now, which is very true. Smith is now a licensed therapist, has a business, and is happily married. This is also thanks to her foster mom who played a big part in teaching and motivating Smith when she was young.

 “What I tried to do is give them confidence and teach them (coping) skills. I’d tell them, ‘You’re smart. And you’re going to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You can have a good life,’” said Gilchrist.

Finally, after four decades, Smith and Gilchrist found each other again. They talked for 45 minutes and it did not feel like they were separated for a very long time. “She sounded exactly the same. She doesn’t seem to have aged. It was amazing,” Smith said.

She is very happy to finally reconnect with her foster mom and thank her for all the love and inspiration. “She showed me that there was kindness in the world. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”