Woman earns GED at 82
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO/Acorn Newspapers NEVER TOO LATE- Pat Atkins' high school career was interrupted by the need to support her family when her father died. But she could never shake the desire to earn her diploma. At 82, Atkins returned to school to earn a GED (General Education Development) certificate, the equivalent of a high school diploma.

As a present to her nine grandchildren, Pat Atkins documented her life and family history in nine beautifully decorated scrapbooks. But during the thorough accounting of her life's journey in the memory books, Atkins couldn't shake the knowledge that a page was missing.

So at 82, she remedied what had troubled her for decades and earned her high school diploma at Conejo Valley Adult School in Thousand Oaks.

"I never finished that last year," Atkins said. "When I did those scrapbooks, there was that void."

The bright and active woman, who lives in a Thousand Oaks retirement home with her husband, Dick, filled that void on Nov. 8, when she sailed through the equivalency testing at the school and earned her diploma.

Michele Arso, learning center program coordinator at the adult school, said Atkins managed to do what younger students can't imagine- complete the math section of the test without the help of technology.

"(Mrs. Atkins) did no prep work and used no calculator," Arso said.

Melissa Nickles, the school's GED chief examiner, said Atkins didn't need even close to the 7½ hours allotted for complete testing in language arts (reading and writing), math, science and social studies. She finished the series of tests hours ahead of schedule.

"I'm pretty good at 'noodling' things out," Atkins said of her exceptional test scores. "It's not too bad for not being in school for 66 years."

Patricia Ethel Cooke (Atkins) was born Feb. 5, 1926. Rather than say she was the second youngest in the family, Atkins identifies her family rank as fourth eldest of six, probably due to the tremendous responsibility she shared with her mother, sister and younger brother after her father died in 1939.

"I bought all my own clothes by the time I was 12," Atkins said. "That's because I always loved clothes."

While her older brothers joined the armed forces, Atkins quit school at 16- one year shy of graduation- to go to work and help support her mother and younger brother. She never questioned the need to drop out of school, but as a stellar student who had skipped seventh grade, the decision haunted her for decades.

The lack of a diploma never stopped Atkins from living a productive life. "I like to do things with my hands," she said, and "use my mind."

Atkins uses her hands for more than writing her life story and creating lovely scrapbooks. She's skilled in quilting and has sold "tons of quillos," which are a combination quilt and pillow. She makes delectable chocolate candy, yummy enough to turn a profit when she lived in Colorado, so delicious that Arso and Nickles offered Atkins the opportunity to teach a candy-making class at the school.

"I took one class in cake decorating in 1960 and after that just did it," Atkins said. "Now I make truffles."

A skilled clothes designer, cake decorator, woodworker and all-around crafter, Atkins makes jewelry-wrapped silverware as gifts. At the age of 78 she was a champion bowler whose 178 average broke her league's record.

She married William Hunter Cooke in 1946 and raised three children. The couple divorced in 1970. She married Dick Atkins in 1985, and wrote in her scrapbook, "It only took me 60 years to find him."

Dick said he didn't know she hadn't earned her high school diploma.

"I think it's great (she has it now)," he said.

Arso said Atkins is the oldest woman in the school's history to earn her GED. Two men, ages 80 and 92, have earned their diplomas at the school.

When diagnosed five years ago with pulmonary fibrosis, a form of lung cancer, Atkins eschewed Western medicine and underwent a regimen of Chinese herbs to fight the disease. She said her lungs have been clear for four years.

After 66 years Atkins is satisfied with the scrapbooks. Besides a lively account of her life through letters, photographs and poems, Atkins pasted famous speeches, essays and even Red Skelton's interpretation of "The Pledge of Allegiance" in the books.

One of the final pages displays the lyrics to a favorite song: "I Did It My Way."

She certainly did. LIGHTING