Celebrating Mom: North Dakota woman credited with raising 69 children, still at it

Yesterday was Mother's Day, a time of year to celebrate the women who raise children, with many moms often dedicating their lives to rearing two to three kids, the national average in the U.S. But in an amazing story of going above and beyond the spectrum of parenting, one woman in rural North Dakota, Joyce Dumont, is responsible for having cared for 69 children, reports James Hagerty for The Wall Street Journal. (Photo by Hagerty: Dumont and two of her adopted children)

Dumont, 77, a retired nurse and Chippewa tribe member living in a poor rural area in the central part of the state, had six children through childbirth, raised five stepchildren, and adopted 11 kids; the rest were foster children or kids that she took in because they had nowhere else to go, reports Hagerty.

Her strategy for raising children is simple: "All children want is something stable. They want to know that you love them. It doesn't have to be love with big computers and fancy clothes and all of that. Just that you care." She also insisted they make something of themselves. As a result, many of the children have gone on to successful careers in fields such as teaching, nursing, plumbing and business.

Lucille Vivier, who moved into the household when she was 14, and is now an English teacher and poet, said of Dumont, she "saved my life, both physically and spiritually," reports Hagerty. Dumont and her husband Buddy have have at home three adopted children, aged 7 to 10. (Read more)