'You stinkin!' | How one comment turned a cashier into the US Naval Academy’s unofficial grandmother

"They are my grandchildren,” she said matter-of-factly. “I couldn’t ask for no more.”  

Blue is referring to the thousands of midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. For years, Blue has worked as a cashier at Academy. But very quickly, she began tending to more than just her register. 

“Everybody feels as if they are her favorite midshipmen and that she is their grandma,” Krys Johnson, one of Blue’s “grandchildren”, said.     

Blue earned the distinction of grandmother soon after she got her cashier job. A midshipman approached her register and Blue – not holding back – said he was “stinkin”. The midshipman told Blue that she sounded like his grandmother and her reputation was born.  

Blue has gone so far as to buy birthday cakes for midshipmen on each of their birthdays. When the Navy football team wins, she gets them both a cake and fruit salad.  

The love and affection Blue receives in return for her gestures is the ultimate reward, she said. Her husband and mother passed away before she began working at the Academy, which left her searching for a way to fill her heart.  

“I really couldn’t ask for no more,” Blue said. “It’s priceless.”  

In the ultimate display of appreciation, the Naval Academy’s class of 2022 named Blue an “honorary classmate”. The academy has also begun including her as an example in their leadership classes.  

“In a career in which we are striving to be selfless leaders and successful leaders [Grandma Mae] is the best example,” Johnson said.