MONROE COUNTY, Ohio (WTOV) – A 99-year-old Ohio woman waited decades to fulfill a life dream to receive her high school diploma.
Georgia McGarry, 99, attended Woodsfield High School in Monroe County, Ohio, but she never graduated. Instead, she had to quit school in 1944 to help her family during World War II.
“I quit high school in 1944 and went to work then,” McGarry said. “In those days, work wasn’t plentiful, and I quit because my family needed it.”
She began working in a pharmacy then as a janitor with her husband.
Even as the years passed, McGarry still wanted to get her high school diploma. Her dream became a reality Thursday when the board of education in the Switzerland of Ohio School District held a special meeting.
Board members presented the 99-year-old with her diploma and also gave her a cap and gown to honor her achievement.
“It means an awful lot because that was a long time ago – 1944,” McGarry said.
While McGarry had to wait 80 years to finally get that diploma, she says she’s truly grateful to her family and friends who made it all possible.
“I loved it very much because all my people are here,” she said.
McGarry will turn 100 in a few months.
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