A 90-year-old woman will finally receive her degree, 71 years after she first enrolled in college.
Joyce DeFauë, formerly Joyce Viola Kane, began her freshman year at Northern Illinois University in 1951 to major in home economics (the study of family care and management). But those plans changed when Joyce met a special man at church who stole her heart, she told CNN.
"I went to school for three and a half years but decided to leave after meeting him," she said. The special man was Don Freeman Sr. The two married in 1955 and had three children together before Freeman passed away. DeFauw married her late second husband, Roy DeFauw. Together they had six children, including two sets of twins.
Throughout the years, her family grew and she now has 17 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. In 2019, Joyce expressed interest in the university education he left behind.
Instead of going to campus to attend class, she did so behind a computer screen from the nursing home. "It was my first computer," she said, "My kids had to teach me how to use it."
Now, three years later, she received a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the university. Joyce is grateful that she had the opportunity to go back to school and get her degree. "It's nice to finish something you started," she said.
Her advice to those who may be in a similar situation: "Don't give up. I know it can be hard, but everything in life has its ups and downs."
