“Thank You, Mom” My Life’s Stories Growing Up in the Forties

A true story of a fatherless boy living on welfare throughout the 40s in Rome, NY with his remarkable mother and five older siblings. Within 43 concise chapters and 52 photo/illustrations, Crouth also details his family's life during the Depression years including the heartbreak of his father's permanent confinement to a mental institution one month before he was born. That there is so much humor in "Thank You, Mom" is a testament to the strength this family found in each other. And, as the book's finale, Crouth adds his mother's own memoirs—written in her 80s—providing moving proof that love is a family's true sustenance.

Jerry Crouth was born in Rome, NY in 1938. He attended St. Aloysius Academy and later met his future wife, Vivian Vinett at Niagara University. They graduated together in June, 1961 and married that following August.
He served two years as an officer in the Army and was awarded "Outstanding Junior Officer for 1963 at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn. He later had a successful career managing regional sales and training for Xerox Corporation. Jerry took early retirement in 1993, after a 26 year career, to become a free-lance writer and associate editor for "Mail Magazine. His book, "Making Documents into Mail," published in 1996, is considered the Bible for automating business mail.
Jerry changed careers again in 1998 when he became a radio DJ and senior sales executive. His "Oldies Show" can be heard worldwide as a 2-hour podcast on Lakefm.com.
Jerry and Vivian have resided in their Ballston Spa, NY home since 1971. They have seven children and 18 grandchildren.