93-Year-Old Ohio Woman Finally Receives Diploma After Being Expelled for Marriage

A 93-year-old woman in Akron, Ohio finally receives her high school diploma after nearly 75 years. The woman, Dorothy Huston, was expelled from school in 1942 because she was married. 

Huston and her late husband, John Huston, had run away to Kentucky to get married after he was called into the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and she was a senior at North High School. Just a few weeks shy from graduation Dorothy had let it slip that she was married, something forbidden by the school.

One day, a gym teacher had told her she had forgotten her gym clothes and ordered her to go to study hall. With that, Dorothy responded, "I'm not going home because I was married."

"Walking home, I thought 'oh my gosh, I shouldn't have done this,'" she told The Washington Post.

It had been such a big regret for the 93-year old so her daughter, Jan Larkin, had written to the high school to see if something could be done. 

"We heard it all the time," Larkin told The Washington Post. "'The stupidest thing I ever did was not finish high school, you kids have to have your education.' So it really was a really huge thing for her."

In the letter to the super independent, Larkin said,"I believe that my mother deserves to receive her High School Diploma, and it would be a wonderful accomplishment for her. She mentors so many neighborhood children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, always pressing them to stay in school and complete their education, then go on to college."

In response to the letter, Akron's Public School Superintendent, David James, had hand-delivered the diploma to Dorothy on March 9, her 93rd Birthday. Larkin said, that she was so happy that she even slept with the diploma that night.