A 94-Year Old Alabama Woman Just Got Her High School Diploma After 79 Years
2021-06-29
Hazel Green High School Facebook page
Huntsville, guess what happened in Madison County this month? Grace Lee McClure Smith graduated high school at age 94, proving to everyone in Huntsville and the surrounding area that it's never too late to finish what you started. It's never too late to chase or accomplish your goals, everyone!
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Her graduation was celebrated in a special ceremony at Hazel Green High School put on by one of her grandchildren, Erin Wilson. Wilson works with the local school system to get Grace Lee her honorary degree.
At the ceremony, Grace Lee was surrounded by her great-grandchildren, her brothers and sisters, and people from the community where she has been a valuable member her whole life!
“I’m so grateful, thank you so much” she said. “It’s better late than never, isn’t it?”
I'd say so, even if it's 79 years late!
Smith's husband went to serve in World War II in 1942, and she dropped out to support their household.
“She never, ever mentioned regretting anything in life. She’d never take it back cause she absolutely loved my grandfather and that’s just what she wanted to do” said her granddaughter, Erin Wilson.
Grace Lee Stayed close to education, working for the Madison County bus system for more than 30 years, and hammering home the importance of education to everyone in her family.
"She drove me actually on the school bus, so I rode with her to and from school. And she always encouraged me to go to school, make sure I finish school, and now she encourages my girls," Wilson commented.
Even though she drove a school bus for 30 years, if people tell her their addresses, she will remember them and launch into stories about them and their families, how she knows so-and-so from driving and how she drove their parents (and sometimes grandparents) to school.
Her family has grown and grown in the last 76 years, and she now has 26 great-grandchildren, all of them she shares her passion for education with.
“It is a special day” Smith said of her graduation ceremony.
Hazel Green High School itself has a lot to be proud of, ranked number two in Madison County, #47 in Alabama, with a 97% graduation rate. AP participation at Hazel Green is 38%. It’s a U.S. News and World Report “Best High School”, ranked #4126 nationally.
The school gave Smith a shout-out on their Facebook account, saying “Congratulations, Mrs. Smith!” With a picture of Smith and several school officials posing around her in her cap and gown on the day of her ceremony.
“I feel like I don't deserve it,” Smith told her local news station. “ there's a lot more people that are much more deserving than me. I'm just doing my job, love it. I love most of it most of the time.”
What a shining example. I think we could all take a page from Smith’s book of kindness and community.
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