97-year-old woman earns high school diploma in Utah

June 10 (UPI) -- A 97-year-old Utah woman was presented with her high school diploma eight decades after she dropped out to take care of her family.

Hanna resident Kathryn Cole ended up one English credit shy of graduation when she left school in the 1940s to help take care of her family after her grandfather's death.

"The day that our finals were being given was the date of his funeral," Cole told KUTV.

Cole has spent the last few years working with students at Tabiona Public Schools to improve their reading skills.

The school district determined Cole's work with the students qualified her to earn her missing English credit, and she was presented with a diploma at Tabiona High School's graduation ceremony.

"This is what I've been wanting my whole life, and I haven't been able to get it," Cole said. "It's never too late to keep learning."

Cole said she plans to continue working with students in the district for as long as she is able.

An even older student, 106-year-old Fred Allen "Gramps" Smalls, was presented with an honorary diploma from Georgetown High School in South Carolina earlier this year.

The special ceremony, attended by more than 100 people, was the culmination of years of efforts by Smalls' granddaughter, Birdella Kinney.