100-year-old woman fulfills dream, receives high school degree

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Lorain County's oldest graduate was not at any of the three graduations Friday. Rather, she was in her home watching a computer screen. Wilda Bennett McComas is 100 years old and never graduated from high school — until Friday. Bennett McComas grew up in a small town in West Virginia. She was on the cusp of graduation in 1939 when she had to leave school to care for her parents. Her father had Parkinson's disease and her mother was bedridden with heart disease. Although she planned to go back to school at a later date, it never happened. Her mother died in 1939, and Bennett McComas — the youngest daughter of 11 children — had to stay home and care for two younger brothers. Bennett McComas' daughter, Rondell Belt, said it was always her mother's biggest regret that she never graduated. Belt decided to take a chance and contact the superintendent of Summers County High School in West Virginia. It worked. On Friday, Superintendent David Warvel called Bennett McComas' name for an honorary high school diploma. Bennett McComas sat in her home in North Ridgeville, watching the graduates in West Virginia. "I'm quite happy," she said. "I've waited all my life." In the letter to Warvel, Belt said her mother has certainly completed anything required for a high school degree, simply based on her life experiences. Her husband served in World War II; her nephew served in the Korean War; her son-in-law served in the Vietnam War. Bennett McComas has lived through all major historical events in between those wars and beyond. She saw technological changes, like cellphones and radio and television. She lived in Baltimore, where her husband worked for a shipyard. She lived in the Kanawha Valley, often considered the chemical center of the world, and dealt with issues caused by companies like DuPont. Bennett McComas watched the first man walk on the moon and saw the space shuttle disasters. She worked a handful of jobs that include being a cashier at a restaurant, a clerk, a bookkeeper and an election poll worker. Belt said Bennett McComas' father was quite strict after her mother died, but Bennett McComas would sneak out of the house to go dancing. That's where she met her husband, Everett McComas. They were able to get married and move to Baltimore. She had two children. As Bennett McComas watched the screen in the North Ridgeville home where she lives with Belt, she smiled as she saw a poster with her face and name on it at the West Virginia stadium. "You're famous," Belt teased. "Everyone is going to see you." Her family gathered around the screen, listening eagerly through the students' speeches. Belt said her mother has always been kind and thoughtful to others — the type of mom willing to give up her seat at the risk of her own discomfort, mothering anyone who comes along. The road to get a diploma for Bennett McComas means just as much to Belt. She said her mother pushed her to get an education. Not going to college wasn't an option. And after Belt received her bachelor's degree and had two children, Bennett McComas pushed her to go back to school. Bennett McComas made sure it happened for Belt. She babysat the children so Belt could study, go to class and take tests. Belt said if it wasn't for her mother, she wouldn't have gotten her master's degree and gotten the job she had as a gifted coordinator in Lorain County. "I did it for her," Belt said. "… I'm excited for her. She's always valued education." Finally, Warvel, the superintendent in West Virginia, walked up to the podium. He told the audience that he wanted to make Bennett McComas' dreams come true. He asked for a round of applause for her. "They're clapping for you, Mama," Belt said through tears. Although she hasn't received it in the mail yet, soon Bennett McComas will receive her diploma. It only took 82 years. "Finally," Bennett McComas said. Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.