Mother’s Day Surprise! Mom Who Sacrificed for Kids Wins ‘GMA’’s Mother’s Day Breakfast in Bed Contest
Sheree Ann Jones pawned her wedding ring to buy toys for Christmas.
— -- Sheree Ann Jones has sacrificed a great deal for her five children.
Jones, of Salt Lake City, gave up her teaching career to raise those children.
To raise funds so her daughter Tiffany McQueen could participate in a soccer tournament in Europe, Jones held a secret yard sale -- even selling the cherished baker’s rack that took her a year to pay off on layaway.
“I think at 16, I was just so into myself that I didn't realize it until later on of what a huge sacrifice that was,” McQueen said.
And one Christmas, when money was tight, Jones pawned her wedding ring to buy toys for her children. She had always said that she had lost her ring, but one year her daughters pressed her about it.
“We said ‘Mom what happened to your wedding ring?’” asked McQueen, along with her sister, Jamie Jones. “And it got real quiet. And she looked at us and said ‘I’ve never told anyone this before...years ago when money was tight we couldn't afford Christmas. And so I sold my ring to a pawn shop so we could give you guys a Christmas.’”
Nancy Hatch, Sheree's sister, was moved when she found out what Sheree had done.
“It really humbled me because, I mean, who would do that?” she said, through tears. “Who would give up their wedding band? But I honestly can see her doing that. Because she's that kind of person.”
This morning on “GMA,” McQueen and her siblings publicly honored their mother’s love and generosity.
Jones thought she was on “GMA” to honor Tiffany for Teacher Appreciation Week, but she got the surprise of a lifetime when celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse appeared to tell her that Tiffany had nominated her for “GMA”’s Mothers’ Day Breakfast in Bed contest – and she had won.
“I feel honored and undeserving,” an unsuspecting Sheree told Legasse.
Sheree thought her other children -– Trevor, Derek, Jace and Jamie – her husband, Brent, and her sister, Nancy Hatch, were all back home in Salt Lake City. She got another surprise when they all came out onto the set.
“We love you,” her youngest daughter told her shocked mom, who couldn’t believe they were there.
“My sister is the perfect example to everyone,” Hatch added. “As a mother, she has always been so giving and she always sacrifices.”
But the surprises weren’t over just yet.
Lagasse led Sheree to a bed on the set and got ready to serve her breakfast in it, but when he lifted the dome on the serving platter, he revealed a wedding ring that she could put on her naked ring finger.
“Wow,” was all Sheree could muster after seeing the diamond.
And that comfortable bed Sheree was in? That’s hers, too, she learned. Tiffany and Jamie, who nominated their mother, thought the surprise was all for her –- but they got new beds as well.
In previous years, Lagasse has gone to winners' homes to spring the surprise. This is the first year that contest winner has been revealed live in the “GMA” studio in Times Square.
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