CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share After 79 long years of waiting, Margaret Bekema finally received her high school diploma. The 97-year-old was forced to drop out of school to take care of her family. She couldn't hold back tears as she was presented with her honorary diploma. VPC 
 
 Margaret Bekema, 97, of Walker, Mich., is overcome with emotion as she receives her high school diploma Oct. 29, 2015. (Photo: WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich.) 
 
 WALKER Mich. — A 97-year-old woman received her high school diploma, 79 years after she was supposed to graduate. 
 
 Margaret Bekema, now living in the Grand Rapids' suburb of Walker, Mich., was forced to drop out of Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids in her junior year to take care of her family. Her mother had cancer, and she also needed to help with her three younger siblings. 
 
 She donned a mortarboard Thursday in front of her friends and family to fulfill her lifelong goal to graduate. School administrators presented her with an honorary diploma at Yorkshire and Stonebridge Manor senior community in Walker. 
 
 "After all of these years, representing all of the core values for which our school stands, we proudly recognize Margaret with an official honorary diploma," school Principal Greg Deja said. 
 
 Leaving school at age 17 broke her heart, she said, and she’s thankful for the recognition. After her mother died, Bekema did clerical work for the armed forces and eventually became a preschool teacher. 
 
 Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow WZZM-TV on Twitter: @wzzm13 
 
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 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1MnaIW7 ||||| WALKER, Mich. (AP) — A 97-year-old woman has received an honorary diploma from a Michigan high school, eight decades after she was forced to drop out to help her family. 
 
 Catholic Central High School Principal Greg Deja, left, presents 97-year-old Margaret Thome Bekema with her honorary diploma at Stonebridge Manor on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015 in Grand Rapids, Mich.. Bekema... (Associated Press) 
 
 97-year-old Margaret Thome Bekema, left, cries as she is presented with her honorary diploma from Catholic Central High School at Stonebridge Manor on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015 in Grand Rapids, Mich.. Bekema... (Associated Press) 
 
 97-year-old Margaret Thome Bekema looks at her high school letter as Catholic Central High School principal Greg Deja, left, and Director of Advancement Beth Banta fix her cap shortly after her honorary... (Associated Press) 
 
 This photo shows the honorary diploma awarded to 97-year-old Margaret Thome Bekema at Stonebridge Manor on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015 in Grand Rapids, Mich.. Bekema began her education at Catholic Central... (Associated Press) 
 
 Margaret Thome Bekema finally was able to don a mortarboard and fulfill her lifelong goal in front of her friends and family on Thursday. School administrators from Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids presented her with the diploma at the Yorkshire and Stonebridge Manor senior community in Walker. 
 
 Bekema would have graduated with the Class of 1936, but she left during her junior year to care for her three younger siblings because her mother was ill with cancer. 
 
 She said leaving school at age 17 broke her heart and she's thankful for the recognition. 
 
 Grand Rapids is about 160 miles northwest of Detroit. ||||| UPDATE: 97-year-old who cried tears of joy after getting diploma has died 
 
 WALKER, MI - After nearly eight decades, 97-year-old Margaret Thome Bekema was presented an honorary diploma from Catholic Central High Thursday, Oct. 29. 
 
 "I thank you from the bottom of my heart,'' said a tearful Bekema, after receiving the diploma from Catholic Central Principal Greg Deja at a ceremony attended by the woman's family and friends at the Yorkshire and Stoneridge Manor senior community. 
 
 Bekema gets emotional talking about the circumstances that prevented her from graduating with her Class of 1936. 
 
 She left her junior year because her mother, Katherine, was ill with cancer and she was called on by her father, Leo Thome, to care for her and her siblings while he worked. She had three younger siblings, two of whom were much younger. 
 
 She said leaving school at age 17 broke her heart. 
 
 "I had to quit school to take over the family," said Bekema, who said she cooked, cleaned and made all their clothes. "It was hard, you have no idea how hard that was. I loved high school and I had lots of friends." 
 
 Bekema, who said she was an A-B student, proudly sported her blue graduation cap and gold honor cords. She also received a certificate as the latest member of the school's alumni association, "The Pride." 
 
 "Her life has been one of sacrifice and service," said Deja. "It has been so encouraging and inspiring for our community because her choices represent all the core values that we teach our students." 
 
 Gerri Smith, a Catholic Central graduate and one of Bekema's two children, said her mother cared for her grandmother until she died. She said she has always regretted not graduating and was excited to finally get the honor. 
 
 "She is the type of person that whatever life hands her, she just deals with it very graciously," said Smith. "She does what has to be done and she doesn't complain about it or make a big deal about it, she just does it." 
 
 Bekema, a widow, has four grandchildren and one great grandson. She said she loved working in the preschool at Grace Episcopal Church for 17 years. 
 
 "The director of the school was an angel, and we had some little pistols," said Bekema, who said she later worked in an office for a government agency during World War II. 
 
 
 
 Her husband, Ted, was a military man. She fondly remembers their first date, sitting down for a Vernors. She said they had a good life together. 
 
 Sister Maureen Geary, the daughter of Bekema's cousin Marian, contacted the school in August about the honorary diploma. She said she had been thinking about it for a while. 
 
 "She has been so self-giving all her life," said Geary, who said Bekema cared for her when she was a baby for about six weeks while her mother was ill. 
 
 Bekema said she loves people and faith was central to family life. 
 
 "My mother was a tough lady, but a very good gal," she said. 
 
 Monica Scott is the Grand Rapids K-12 education writer. Email her at mscott2@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter @MScottGR or Facebook
– Margaret Bekema would have loved to graduate with the rest of the Class of 1936 but life got in the way—almost eight decades of it. The Michigan woman, who had to drop out of high school when she was 17 to look after her mother, who had cancer, and three younger siblings, finally received her diploma from Catholic Central High School on Thursday at the age of 97, reports USA Today. Bekema, who was presented with the diploma in a ceremony senior community, said graduating had been a lifelong dream, the AP reports. "I had to quit school to take over the family," said Bekema, who did clerical work for the Army during World War II and late worked as a preschool teacher. "It was hard, you have no idea how hard that was. I loved high school and I had lots of friends." One of her two children tells MLive.com that her mother isn't one for complaining, but not graduating from high school was something she always regretted. "She is the type of person that whatever life hands her, she just deals with it very graciously," she says.