A 97-year-old woman received her high school diploma about 80 years after she was supposed to graduate.
Margaret Thome Bekema
The 97-year old Margaret Thome Bekema fulfilled a lifelong goal when she received her high school diploma 80 years after she was forced to drop out in order to help her family.
She donned a mortarboard Thursday in front of her friends and family to fulfill her lifelong goal to graduate.
School administrators from Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids presented her with the diploma at the Yorkshire and Stonebridge Manor senior community in Walker.
Bekema would have graduated with the Class of 1936, but she left during her junior year to care for her three younger siblings because her mother was ill with cancer. She said leaving school at age 17 broke her heart and she's thankful for the recognition