Ketevan Geladze

Ketevan Geladze ("Ekaterina" in Russian, and familiarly known as "Keke") (Georgian: ქეთევან გელაძე; February 5, 1858 – June 4, 1937) was the mother of Joseph Stalin. She was born to a family of Georgian Orthodox Christian serfs in Gambareuli, Imperial Russia (now in Georgia), in 1858. She married Besarion Jughashvili when she was 17. The marriage bore three sons, but only Joseph (Ioseb) lived to adulthood. Besarion was an abusive alcoholic, routinely beating Ketevan and Joseph. He finally left before Joseph was 10.

Ketevan made a living doing housework for richer citizens. She'd hoped Joseph would become an Orthodox clergyman. While he did attend seminary, he was expelled for missing his final exams. It was not long after this that Joseph became a Marxist. After the fall of the Russian Empire and the rise of the Soviet Union, Joseph, now calling himself Stalin, arranged for his mother to reside in a palace in the Caucasus. She remained there until her death in 1937 of pneumonia.

Ketevan Geladze in Joe Steele
Ketevan Geladze and her husband Besarion Jughashvilli, left the Russian Empire and immigrated to Fresno, California in 1878. Their son, Joseph, was born months after their arrival. He was elected President of the United States in 1932.