New Hampshire Teacher Granted Her Last Wish

1929 was the year that Harriet Richardson Ames began her higher education to become a teacher. She earned a two year teaching certificate in 1931 at Keene Normal School, today known as Keene State College. Mrs. Ames' long standing dream was to earn a Bachelor's degree in education. Her dream to earn that degree came full circle almost three (3) after her 100^th birthday.

Mrs. Ames received her diploma on Friday, Jan. 23, and died the very next day on Saturday, Jan. 24. The retired schoolteacher had been in hospice care due to her failing health and pleased knowing that she had accomplished her goals before her life came to an end, according to her daughter.

Marjorie Carpenter, Mrs. Ames daughter, stated that "She had what I call a bucket list and that was the last thing on it".

Ames saw her 100^th birthday roll in on Jan. 2 and spent most of her life as a teacher. She had earned a two-year teaching certificate in 1931 and had taught in a one room schoolhouse in South Newbury. She later spent twenty (20) years as a teaching principal at Memorial School in Pitttsfield teaching first graders.

Mrs. Ames had taken classes at the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth Teachers College and Keene State over time in an effort to earn the credits she needed for her degree. She stopped taking classes after she retired in 1971, partially due to her failing eyesight, and was never sure if she had enough credits for her degree.

A Keene State film professor interviewed Ames a couple of years ago in preparation for an upcoming centennial celebration for the college and that is when Ames' dream of a degree was made known. The Keene State centennial was celebrated last year and the school decided that they were going to do their own research into Mrs. Ames' classes and credits in order to find out if she had earned enough for the degree that she has dreamed of. Several departments, including the offices of the provost and registrar, worked very quickly last month to determine that the credits had, indeed, been earned and that Keene State College could award Mrs. Ames her wish for a degree.

Norma Walker, the coordinator of the Keene State Golden Circle Society, an alumni group for classes that graduated 50 or more years ago, visited with Ames recently and delivered a certificate from KSC President Helen Giles-Gee honoring Harriet's centenarian status. Walker told Ames that the college was working on her degree. Through her tears, Ames said, "If I die tomorrow, I'll know I'll die happy because my degree is in the works". Walker commented that, "she wanted to be the best that she could be".

Walker and other officials from Keene State hand delivered the document to Ames' bedside on Friday, Jan. 23.

Walker first met Ames in 1997 at an alumni gathering and remembered that she enjoyed listening to Ames' talk about her students and how she encouraged them to read. " She's the kind of person that every parent would want their first graders to have as a teacher, very loving and caring", stated Walker.

Walker planned to read Ames' diploma at a memorial service Saturday, Jan. 30, she added, "if I can do it without crying".

Ames had asked Walker to read the diploma at her funeral if she didn't live long enough to accept it herself. Walker, remembering one of her earlier visits with Ames, said, "Harriet said she was perturbed with God because he wouldn't take her when she wanted to go."

Fortunately, Harriet held on long enough to learn that she'd been granted her dying wish.

Paula Finnegan Dickinson, of Gilford, was a student of Mrs. Ames in 1956 and became a teacher, herself, regarding Ames as a mentor and dear friend. "Mrs. Ames, along with Dick, Jane, Sally, Spot and Puff, became our friend", Dickinson said, recalling the series "Dick and Jane" that used to be used in class reading groups. "With her enthusiasm, these characters came to life. ... Mrs. Ames showed us how reading opened the doors to other experiences we in Pittsfield might never have known."

Keene State Mission Statement;

"Keene State College prepares promising students to think critically and creatively, to engage in active citizenship, and to pursue meaningful work. As the public liberal arts college of New Hampshire, we offer an enriching campus community and achieve academic excellence through the integration of teaching, learning, scholarship, and service."