Joyce Dumont, North Dakota Woman, Raised 69 Children Over Span Of 60 Years

Mother's Day has come and gone, but we think the efforts of one mom in particular still need to be applauded. Joyce Dumont, a 77-year-old North Dakotan, has raised 69 children since the 1960s, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Dumont, along with her husband Buddy, also 77, have opened their home not only to their own children (she has six children from her first marriage at 18 and five step-children); she adopted 11 more children and fostered "several dozen" over the years, some brought to her by area social workers and others who just happened to show up on her always welcoming doorstep.

Dumont has yet to experience an empty nest -- she and Buddy have adopted three more children between the ages of 7 and 10.

Her parenting philosophy is one that parents everywhere -- no matter how many children they have -- should adopt:

"All children want is something stable," Dumont told Wall Street Journal. "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."

To learn more about Dumont's story, visit the Wall Street Journal.

We tip our hats to those like Dumont who have selflessly dedicated their lives to fostering children in need of love and homes. Judy Cockerton based her career reinvention on this principle, creating three nonprofits that aim to help the estimated 25,000 Americans who age out of foster care. And the late Amanda De Lange's legacy won't be forgotten: her Starfish Foster Home, "an organization that arranges surgeries for orphaned children and helps them become 'adoption-ready,'" lives on.

Earlier on Huff/Post50: