Great-grandmother graduates high school

UTAH COUNTY, Utah -- Graduation week is now wrapping up for thousands of high school seniors across the country, but this year another kind of senior is throwing a cap in the air as well.

Rolleen Littlefield Taysom of Utah waited 70 years to graduate from high school and is finally getting her turn.

Arm-in-arm with her great-granddaughter Shae Spencer, the 87 year-old made the long walk across the stage.

"Shae held on to me and helped me through!" Taysom laughed.

KTVX reports that Taysom dropped out of high school back in 1944 when her father passed away, leaving her widowed mother to care for her and her seven siblings.

"I knew that my mom was kind of out of money and needed help, so I told her I'd go to work," Taysom recalled.

Working hard to help support the family, the selfless young lady never did go back to school. So when Taysom's daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter told her she would be graduating with Spencer this year, "I thought they were just kidding!" Taysom laughed.

But they most definitely were not kidding.

"We went and set up an interview with the superintendent of Alpine School District, and he was like, 'Yeah that's totally okay!'" Spencer explained.

The big day came fast, and Taysom made sure she was ready.

"She had her hair done and her hat bobby-pinned to her hair," Spencer recalled.

The pair lined up with the rest of Lehi High School's graduating class.