2000

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*Ageless hero Association . Mrs. Graham quit school at age 16 to follow her heart h) marrying her high school s" eet– heart, Dow Graham. She settled into life a , a devoted preacher's wife. and stated she never minded the -=ac– rifice, perhaps, because she knew she would some dav return to the classroom. · And 65' years later she dtd return to school, as a 74-year-old seeking a General Educatwn Development diploma. Less than three months after enrolling in adult. basic educa– tion classes on the Decatur cam– pus of East Central Communit) College, Mn. Graham earned her diploma a.nd set her sight~ on another goal - a college degree. She admitted it was not ea:.\' being a 75-year-old freshman i~ a class filled most!v \\ ith teenagers, especially when her first course involved computers. But bolstered by her family's faith in her abilities and the admiration of her much younger classmates, Mrs. Graham became the oldest person to receive a degree in the hbtory of

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the College. And it was a degree with hon– or-. She was earlier inducted into Theta Xi Chapter of Phi Theta Ktppa, the international honor "' .c1ety of the two-year college, and became the oldest member ever inducted into a l\1ississippi chapter. When asked to offer words of advice, Mrs. Graham made the following comment: ''Tum your life over to God and be sweet and helpful to people." Her advice is obviously the philo...ophy by which she li;es, as well. For three years she has driven owr 40 miles a day twice each week to help students enrolled in East Central's adult basic educa– tion program, achieve the1r dreams. And, regarding her role as a ,emor citizen, she stated : "I look at aging as a wonderful time to be a light to the 1 younger genera– tion They need us older people as role models The,;e arc 1 he golden years und we should t1·y lo make them lhe be~;t ever"

APPEARED IN :

LAKE MESSENGER______________ SCOTT COUNTY TIMES___________ UNION APPEAL _____________ WINSTON COUNTY JOURNAL._______ SPIRIT OF MORTON______ _ NEWTON MESSENGER

CARTHAGINIAN________ NESHOBA DEMOCRAT_:._X..... ..::o.' _____ NEWTON RECORD___________ MERIDIAN STAR CLARION-LEDGER __________