SHAWANO, WI – It was a special 89th Birthday present for one Shawano man who finally got to graduate from High School.
Robert Brunner was surprised when the Shawano School District went through the steps to present him with his long overdue high school equivalency certificate from 1963 on Sunday.
Brunner had to drop out of high school early to support his family after his father suffered a work accident.
“His dad was out in the woods and chopped his foot with an axe, so Bob had to take off from school and basically had to take care of the family by working.”
School Board Member Mart Grams is a longtime friend and presented the certificate to Brunner.
He says Bob was able to find employment because he had all the required course work completed, but did not have the actual diploma to prove it until Sunday.
“He said it was the greatest event of his life, because for his entire life, he had that burden on his shoulders that he never really graduated, but now he has that piece of paper that brought tears to his eyes.”
Grams says still, he found his way to a successful life including work as a barber and in agriculture.
“He actually had one of the most mechanized first farms in Shawano County,” Grams said.
Grams has witnessed a lot of graduations in his time as a teacher and school board member, and says sometimes the idea of the importance is missed.
“These kids do not understand how important that piece of paper is. Yes, it is just a piece of paper but it symbolizes effort and completion.
Grams said the process to get the certificate made up was easy, it just took someone willing to do it.
