Grandfather finally gets diploma

On Saturday morning, Jim Russell carefully tucked his white hair into his black graduation cap and zipped up his graduation gown.

Russell, an 82-year-old father and grandfather, has fought in World War II, traveled throughout the world, worked as district manager for Utah Power and Light, worked as an usher at the University of Utah and volunteered in numerous community positions.

And on Saturday, he graduated from high school.

"I'm a little nervous," Russell admitted a few minutes before the ceremony at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. "I'm not sure why."

The Salt Lake City native was set to graduate from West High School in 1936, but he received an incomplete in a half-credit English class. More than 64 years later, he determined to seek out the elusive diploma.

"I finally decided I'd better get it," he said. "It's always been in the back of my mind. I knew that I didn't have that diploma."

Russell, who still works as an usher and volunteers between 50 and 100 hours a month, spent a month trying to track down his old records and was planning on going back to school for at least a year. He was surprised, when his records turned up, to find out he only had to make up a half credit to graduate.

"I have no idea what a half credit takes to get, but apparently I passed it," he said. After four visits to Salt Lake's Horizonte Instruction and Training Center and nearly perfect scores on geography and math tests, he became eligible to receive his diploma.

As an usher, he has seen his fair share of graduations in the past 66 years, but he was nonetheless hesitant about donning cap and gown to participate in Horizonte's ceremony.

"I've been thinking I would be looking a little silly at my age here doing this -- I'm a little embarrassed -- but my daughter said I forced her to go through graduation and I was going to do it, too," he said. And though he didn't have to cram for any finals the past month, "What I had to cram for was getting up the courage to do this."

Surrounded by an eclectic mix of graduates, Russell admitted that times have changed since his peers graduated from high school.

"Yeah, there are some differences," he said of graduates then and now, laughing.

And the post-graduation plans? First, a full afternoon and evening of work on Saturday. A barbecue with family and close friends later. When asked if he planned to slow down, he quickly responded, "Not if I can help it."

But that doesn't mean he's eager to get started on his Ph.D. any time soon. "At 82, I think I'd better quit," he said.

Russell has served more than 23 years on the Northwest Multi- Purpose Center Advisory Board and has spent nine of those years as chairman. He gave 13 years of volunteer service to the Salt Lake Community Health Center Board. He is now president of the Salt Lake Community Action Board, for which he has volunteered for nearly 14 years. In his free time he collects stamps and trains, and plays sweepstakes.

"I knew I had nothing else to prove to everyone else, I've already done so much," he said, referring to his reasons for graduating, "but I had to prove it to myself."

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