La Crosse Tribune: Wednesday was the happiest day in 91-year-old Mavis Kjos’ life, save her marriage to her late husband, Alf.
After more than 75 years, Mavis finally received the one thing she had always regretted not getting: a high school diploma. Surrounded by friends and relatives in her La Crosse home, Mavis received her diploma from Whitehall High School District, presented by retired Whitehall teacher and relative Dave Schaefer.
“Oh, gosh!” Mavis exclaimed as she received the diploma. “I’m so excited. This is the biggest thing that happened to me since I got married.”
Mavis dropped out of school after she completed eighth grade. Living on a farm in rural Osseo, Mavis was the second-youngest of nine children and took care of her mother in 1939 after she became bedridden by complications of diabetes.
By the time her mother had recovered, Mavis was too embarrassed to go back to school, as her friends were so far ahead of her. Then she met Alf, a talented La Crosse baseball player. World War II happened. She married Alf after his last tour of duty in 1946 and began raising a family.
But she never shook the fact that she wasn’t able to finish school. A bright young girl, Mavis attended two-room North Branch schoolhouse with four grades per room. At that time, students had to pass an examination to finish the eighth grade, and Mavis was one of only two girls to get a perfect score.
“All my life, the one thing I wished was to get my high school diploma,” Mavis said. “All my brothers and my sisters got to to go on to college.”