Mount Vernon school board approves issuing high school diploma to 106-year-old woman

2/28/2013

LUCAS, Ohio — A 106-year-old Ohio woman is finally going to get her high school diploma.

Reba Williams said she completed high school in Mount Vernon in central Ohio but was denied her diploma because she refused to read a final book assigned by a teacher.

The Mansfield News Journal reports that the Mount Vernon Board of Education approved issuing Williams’ diploma earlier this month. She'll receive it in the coming days.

A retired English teacher at Mount Vernon High School had approached the board about giving Williams the diploma after reading about her earlier this year.

Williams was a longtime cook at what is now the state's only working farm and park, called Malabar Farm State Park.

She still has a sharp mind and lives with her daughter in Columbus.