A Home for a Hometown Hero on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast

Just two years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Mary Burley was featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” She wasn’t talking about dealing with tragedy or loss; she was being recognized for the things she gives.

At the time, Burley worked at the Kessler Air Force base’s Fisher House as a housekeeper who found herself offering a listening ear and lifting the spirits of soldiers and their loved ones. She’d arrive there every day from the FEMA trailer she lived in after the hurricane took away the space she’d rented for years.

“When you rent,” she says, “(Landlords) can come in and out when they please.” This was one of the reasons home ownership was important to her, and why, after decades of renting, she knew she wanted to own a home.

In April 2007, Burley joined Hope Credit Union, took credit and money management classes and started saving money for a home through the Mercy IDA program. She says she was “real pleased.” Those at HOPE “always answered my questions.”

With a spirit like hers, who wouldn’t? Burley’s hard work learning to manage her money paid off. HOPE’s Home Again program helped her realize her dream of homeownership.

U.S. Air Force Col. Greg Touhill told “Good Morning America” about Burley, “Her service to her country through serving here at Kessler Air Force base is just absolutely a treasure for all of us Americans.”

Because of Burley’s love and patience with her dreams and those same virtues she showed others back at the base before retiring, she’s proven that she too is a hero.