---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When my father died, the money he left us…"
description: "\"When my father died, the money he left us would have dried up within a year were it not for my mother... We might very well have ended up on welfare.\" ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/bernice-king-7450_father_when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us_820373.png"
---

#  When my father died, the money he left us would have dried…

![“When my father died, the money he left us would have dried up within a year were it not for my mother... We might very well have ended up on welfare.” quote by Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/bernice-king-7450_father_when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us_820373.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/bernice-king-7450_father_when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us_820373.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/bernice-king-7450_father_when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us_820373.png)

> “When my father died, the money he left us would have dried up within a year were it not for my mother... We might very well have ended up on welfare.”

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Family support can prevent financial collapse after a loss, highlighting resilience and resourcefulness.

**In simple terms:** Family aid averts poverty.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate strong family networks.

Themes

family resilience financial stability

Mood

pragmatic hopeful

Type

advice inspirational

When to use this quote

- budget planning
- emergency funds
- community assistance
- career counseling

Key Concepts

socioeconomics intergenerational support

Questions to Reflect On

- What resources can replace family aid?
- How can you strengthen your safety net?

A Different Perspective

May not apply to those without family support.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare/)

## Related quotes

> [I decided to quit 'Survivor: All-Stars' in order to be closer to my mother, who ended up passing away from breast cancer seven days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/i-decided-to-quit-survivor-all-stars-in-order-to-be-closer-to-my/)

[Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/)

> [No one ever died with too much money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-feldman/no-one-ever-died-with-too-much-money/)

[Ben Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-feldman/)

> [“She sold her hair; she sold her teeth, but it was never enough. The baby became lethargic and ceased to thrive. She called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-worth/she-sold-her-hair-she-sold-her-teeth-but-it-was-never-enough-the-baby/)

[Jennifer Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-worth/)

> [“Though liberal in his praise and always courteous and condescending to the shop-people, he was scarcely ever known to pay a bill and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/though-liberal-in-his-praise-and-always-courteous-and-condescending/)

[Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/)

> [I have 10 brothers and sisters. My mother raised us because my father died when I was 8.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-have-10-brothers-and-sisters-my-mother-raised-us-because-my-father/)

[Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/)

> [Nonviolence will empower and equip us to bring generations to the table and fuse our knowledge, gifts, and zeal together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/nonviolence-will-empower-and-equip-us-to-bring-generations-to-the/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [This is our problem, our dilemma, yes? We cannot celebrate and declare ourselves to belong to the victorious nations because our brothers and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manfred-rommel/this-is-our-problem-our-dilemma-yes-we-cannot-celebrate-and-declare/)

[Manfred Rommel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manfred-rommel/)

> [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/)

[Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/)

> [My father died very suddenly at sixty-three. Just dropped dead. For a long time afterward, I'd ask myself, Why didn't I ask him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/my-father-died-very-suddenly-at-sixty-three-just-dropped-dead-for-a/)

[Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/)

> [My mother emigrated from Russia as a young child. She couldn't speak English and had no education. Her father died at age 32, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-feinstein/my-mother-emigrated-from-russia-as-a-young-child-she-couldn-t-speak/)

[Dianne Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-feinstein/)

> [My real father died when I was two years old, so I never knew him. He was a barber in Chicago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/my-real-father-died-when-i-was-two-years-old-so-i-never-knew-him-he/)

[Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/)

> [“I need to ask, are you afraid of spiders?" Nicholas blinked, suddenly caught off guard, "Yes, I'm afraid of spiders." "Were you always?" "What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-m-irwin/i-need-to-ask-are-you-afraid-of-spiders-nicholas-blinked-suddenly/)

[Stephen M. Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-m-irwin/)

> [Sadly, my father died before I graduated, so he didn't see any of the success at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-logan/sadly-my-father-died-before-i-graduated-so-he-didn-t-see-any-of-the/)

[Phyllis Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-logan/)

> [At home we didnt talk about religion. So gradually the question faded away by itself and disappeared from the agenda. When I was nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/at-home-we-didnt-talk-about-religion-so-gradually-the-question-faded/)

[Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/)

> [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/)

[Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/)

## More by Bernice King

> [Nonviolence will empower and equip us to bring generations to the table and fuse our knowledge, gifts, and zeal together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/nonviolence-will-empower-and-equip-us-to-bring-generations-to-the/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [Before she was a King, my mother was a peace advocate, a courageous leader, and an accomplished artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/before-she-was-a-king-my-mother-was-a-peace-advocate-a-courageous/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [Before my mother was a King, she climbed trees and wrestled with boys. And won. Even as a child, Coretta Scott demonstrated that her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/before-my-mother-was-a-king-she-climbed-trees-and-wrestled-with-boys/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [At Grinnell College, for the first time in my life, I was in an all-white setting. It was a shocking experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/at-grinnell-college-for-the-first-time-in-my-life-i-was-in-an-all/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [Continue to speak out against all forms of injustice to yourselves and others, and you will set a mighty example for your children and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/continue-to-speak-out-against-all-forms-of-injustice-to-yourselves/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [We cannot afford to regard as normal the presence of injustice, inhumanity, and violence, including their verbal and cyber manifestations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/we-cannot-afford-to-regard-as-normal-the-presence-of-injustice/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [Something big is going on. I'm talking about a society that refuses to allow injustice just to persist without making our voices heard and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/something-big-is-going-on-i-m-talking-about-a-society-that-refuses-to/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [With continued prayer and an equally-determined commitment to action for needed anti-violence reforms, let us resolve to work toward a new era in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/with-continued-prayer-and-an-equally-determined-commitment-to-action/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [Seek out your brothers and sisters of other cultures and join together in building alliances to put an end to all forms of racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/seek-out-your-brothers-and-sisters-of-other-cultures-and-join/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [Every time I go to these racial forums, it is people who are alike, or it is progressives and liberals. So I said, 'At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/every-time-i-go-to-these-racial-forums-it-is-people-who-are-alike-or/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [If each of us works toward making a sincere effort when we wake up each morning with a renewed commitment and dedication to embracing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/if-each-of-us-works-toward-making-a-sincere-effort-when-we-wake-up/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [I spend a lot of time meditating, which is something that I don't think most people know about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-meditating-which-is-something-that-i-don-t/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [It is painful beyond measure to lose a loving father and grandmother to violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/it-is-painful-beyond-measure-to-lose-a-loving-father-and-grandmother/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [Among her many accomplishments, my mother is often identified as the leader of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/among-her-many-accomplishments-my-mother-is-often-identified-as-the/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

> [The more you resist something, the more aggressive it becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/the-more-you-resist-something-the-more-aggressive-it-becomes/)

[Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

[Explore all 91 Bernice King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/)

## More Father quotes

> [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/)

[John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/)

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/)

[Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/)

> [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/)

[Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/)

> [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/)

[Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/)

> [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/)

[Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/)

> [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/)

[Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/)

> [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/)

[Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/)

> [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/)

[Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/)

> [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/)

[Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/)

> [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/)

[Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/)

> [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/)

[Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/)

> [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

[Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When my father died, the money he left us would have dried up within a year were it not for my mother... We might very well have ended up on welfare.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Bernice King"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us-would-have-dried-up-within-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Father"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us-would-have-dried-up-within-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/bernice-king-7450_father_when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us_820373.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/bernice-king-7450_father_when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us_820373.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/bernice-king-7450_father_when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us_820373.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When my father died, the money he left us would have dried up within a year were it not for my mother... We…” — Bernice King",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Bernice King",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When my father died, the money...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us-would-have-dried-up-within-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/when-my-father-died-the-money-he-left-us-would-have-dried-up-within-a/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```