It was Harriet Richardson Ames' dream to earn her bachelor's degree in education. She finally reached that milestone, nearly three weeks after achieving another: her 100th birthday.
On Saturday, the day after receiving her diploma at her bedside, the retired schoolteacher died, pleased that she had accomplished her goal, her daughter said. Ames had been in hospice care.
"She had what I call a 'bucket list,' and that was the last thing on it," Marjorie Carpenter said Tuesday.
Ames, who turned 100 on Jan. 2, had earned a two-year teaching certificate in 1931 at Keene Normal School, now Keene State College. She taught in a one-room schoolhouse in South Newbury, and later spent 20 years as a teaching principal at Memorial School in Pittsfield, where she taught first-graders.
Good for her for going strong! On the other hand, I hope to live longer after getting my next degree than she did.
"On the other hand, I hope to live longer after getting my next degree than she did."
ReplyDeleteIt is always risky to generalize from one data point, but what done-her-in may have been finishing off her bucket list.
I'd say that the safe thing would be to have something extra difficult on it ... maybe like, "Return from exploration of inside of black hole and present paper on same to the Royal Astronomical Society."
Or something.
-Mark Roulo
Wait, what? She taught all these years without a teaching degree? We need to go back and invalidate all of those students' diplomas. I can't believe we failed to protect the children from an unqualified hack.
ReplyDelete/s