After a massive storm destroyed an elderly woman’s house, she was left without a place to live. When she related the incident to one of her family members, they gave her a suggestion, and she instantly decided to act upon it. They say that home is where the heart is, and many people tend to take these words a little too seriously. Having a comfortable and cozy place to come back to after a long and tiring day is a precious feeling.
People might spend considerable time looking for the perfect place to live based on personal preferences. Some might like keeping things simple and are all for minimalistic living. But there’s another category of people who operate on a different frequency. They are the ones who like doing things their way and might love being involved in painting, decorating, or organizing their perfect home.
The story we’re sharing today is about a woman who carved her distinct definition of a dream home and extracted pure joy and comfort from the process. Jo Ann Ussery, from Benoit, Mississippi, never thought her life would change most unexpectedly until it did. In 1994, her lovely home was ruined by a winter storm, and suddenly, she was left without a place to live.
The then-52-year-old hairdresser and beautician began looking for a new mobile home. During this time, a Boeing 727 was moved to Greenwood, Mississippi, where it was to be “parted out” after being stored in Texas for some time.The grandma lived in her unique and luxurious residence from april 1995 to may 1999.
The plane with serial number 19510 was the first Boeing 727 in Continental Airlines’ fleet and was in service for the carrier from May 1968 until September 1993. Jo Ann’s brother-in-law, air traffic controller Bob Farrow knew about the 127ft-scrapped plane and suggested she consider purchasing the abandoned airliner. The beautician immediately jumped at the idea and decided to buy the plane without a second thought.
According to Airport Journals, she bought the plane for $2,000 and paid another $4,000 to a removal company to move it to her spot next to a beautiful lake in Benoit. Jo Ann was said to have spent thousands of dollars revamping the retired airliner. While remodeling most of the home herself, she installed floors, connected electricity wiring, and plumbing, and even set up a phone line.
She removed the seats to create an 11ft-wide space with 76 windows and ten cockpit windows flooding the fuselage with light. The hairdresser even salvaged interior parts from other retired 727s to add to her new airplane. Jo Ann said she spent around $24,000 on the renovations, creating a three-bedroom space with a living room, dining room, laundry room, and master bathroom in the cockpit.
The Benoit resident also maintained several original features in her new home, such as the cockpit control wheels to keep the aircraft look and the rear airstairs, which could be accessed with a garage door opener. “It’s so comfortable, it’s so nice, it’s well insulated and convenient, there’s nothing terrible about it,” she previously told TODAY.
According to Jo Ann, the airplane was 27 years old when she bought it and had everything a homeowner would desire, including a phone, air conditioning, cooker, washing machine, and dishwasher. The plane was “warm and large,” she said. The older lady mentioned that her grandchildren enjoyed running up and down the plane, and her friends enjoyed partying there.
She also stated that she aspired to purchase a Boeing 747 in the future because it had an upstairs and downstairs area, which she desired. Jo Ann called her luxurious residence “Little Trump” after Donald Trump’s $16 million 727 corporate planes. It was placed in Mississippi and was partially over a lake to give the impression that it was taking off.
From April 1995 to May 1999, the grandmother resided in her one-of-a-kind and beautiful home. One day, a truck was hired to carry the airplane to a different place. Jo Ann intended to open the airplane to the public, but it fell off the runway and sustained damage as a result.