Johnie E. Baxter
Adult Education

Receiving his GED in 1971

Although he lived, worked, and earned a good income most of his life with only his 8th Grade Diploma, Johnie Baxter believed in the value of a good education ... and he saw to it that both of his children received a fully paid for college education.

It was not until two years after his son had graduated from high school and was then in college that both Johnie and his wife, Marie, went back to school and got their GED diplomas.

I could not have been more proud of them for taking this step in their lives. I was so glad to be there on the ocassion of their graduation in the spring of 1971 and be able to take these pictures to better remember the event. The presenter of their diplomas was the same man who handed me my high school diploma two years earlier. The ceremony was held in the auditorium of the school where my sister was then attending middle school.

But his formal education did not stop here. After getting his GED Johnie Baxter went on to complete several adult continuing education courses in the Rockford Public School system and at Rock Valley Community College to augment his prior skills. And a few years later attended Christian Life School of the Bible (a local Bible College) to formalize his study of the Bible which had already been a life long pursuit as the well worn books in his extensive personal library will attest.

Below are additional photos taken at their graduation ceremony. The first shows them sitting with their classmates listening to the graduation speaker. The second one shows their backs as the speaker made his presentation. The next shows them filing into the room to receive their diplomas. And the last one shows Dad receiving his GED diploma when he was 50 years old.

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Roger Baxter
497 Shem Ct SE
Bolivia, North Carolina 28422 USA