There are few events in life we celebrate as defining landmarks and graduating college surely ranks well on that list. However, graduating after 71 years takes a lot of sheer determination to achieve. Surely “extra special” is what describes such a story best.
90-year-old Joyce DeFauw just accomplished this feat. The nonagenarian who is a resident of Illinois, Michigan State, graduated from Northern Illinois University (NIU, USA) on Sunday. The graduation comes 71 years after she enrolled for a degree in Home Economics at NIU.
The great-grandmother who was formerly known as Joyce Viola Kane explained that she went to college for about three and a half years before dropping out when she met a special man at a church.
The man who is identified as Don Freeman Sr. stole her heart and got married to her in 1955. DeFauw reportedly already had three children with her late first husband before he passed away.
Five years later, she married a man named Roy DeFauw, the second late husband with whom she had six children, including two sets of twins. Naturally, her family grew over the years and she now has 17 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
DeFauw returned to college in 2019, as she wanted to finish what she had started 71 years before. Her family completely supported her decision to complete her education.
“I guess I mentioned I was upset that I didn’t finish school and my children encouraged me to go back,” she recalled. She enrolled back at NIU after she shocked them by asking about a previous enrollment from the 1950s.
This time around in college, a lot changed as classes were online. This new modus operandi made her learn how to use a laptop.
This story shows age is only a number and it is all in the mind. When there is a will, there is a way. It is never too late to fulfill your desires.
