At 90 years old, Bob Bonhomme had two items on his bucket list:
Go to prom and graduate from high school.
The longtime Portage resident quit school as a teenager to work and support his family before he was drafted into the U.S. Army at 19 years old, never earning his diploma or participating in the quintessential teen experience.
He was supposed to graduate high school in 1951 from St. Augustine School in Kalamazoo. After serving 14 months in the Korean War, he returned to his hometown and spent the next 40-plus years working at the papermill.
He got married and raised four children in Portage and never had the chance to go back and finish high school.
“Life just always got in the way,” Bob said.
He’s thought about going back to get his diploma for years, including when he was only 19 years old – but the draft letter came instead.
“Uncle Sam didn’t care if you had a diploma,” said Diane Bonhomme of her father-in-law’s disrupted plans.
Bob also considered earning his diploma after retirement but spent years instead being his wife Norma’s caretaker before her death 11 years ago.
“Mom would have been proud of you,” Diane said.
Bob was at his weekly breakfast date with his daughter-in-law when she asked him about his bucket list.
“I wish I had graduated and gone to prom,” he remembers telling her. Diane got to work right away making those dreams happen.
“I saw the desire in his eyes when he talked about it,” she said. “Before his life was over, I wanted to make sure he got to enjoy and do those things.”
Diane contacted PPS Superintendent Mark Bielang who worked with state officials to make Bob’s wish come true. Bob received his diploma at the PPS Board of Education meeting Monday, June 10. Superintendent Bielang honored him for his service in the Army and the life he built here in Portage.
“We are honored to give Bob his diploma, something he sacrificed years ago to serve his family and country,” Bielang said. “Thank you for your service to our country.”
Board member Keith Crowell said Monday’s presentation was the perfect end of the graduation season at PPS.
“Before tonight, I was going to say it was a splendid graduation season, but this tops it all,” he said. “I’m glad we could do that.”
When asked about his post-secondary plans after high school graduation, Bob laughed and recalled going to Kalamazoo College for two days for papermill job training.
“Just because he never graduated high school doesn’t mean that he wasn’t smart,” Diane said. “Doing the job of working at a papermill for over four decades – while technology was constantly changing – would teach someone great skills.
“You deserve a diploma,” she said.
