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Beecher earns liberal studies degree ... at 84
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · July 02, 2015
Eighty-four-year-old Norma Beecher helped start a church, spent 50 years with the Girl Scouts, taught school, ran a small business with husband John, helped elect a state representative and met two sitting presidents in four visits to the White House. Yet she never finished her college degree. Until now.
Beecher in June received confirmation from the University of Iowa that, after earning her high school degree in 1948 and starting at the UI some 30 years ago, she has officially earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, which includes political science, communications, humanities and education.
“So many other things happened in my life,” she said about why it was difficult to continue her education. In recent years, for example, she was diagnosed with cancer and, most recently, her husband, John, passed away.
Beecher attended Central College for one semester, but could not remain because it was too expensive. She then attended Muscatine Junior College and earned a “limited elementary certificate” which allowed her to teach.
“Believe me, I learned more than they did,” she said of her pupils.
That job led her to teach fourth and fifth grade in Oakville, Iowa, where she spent two years before coming to West Branch. Here, she spent 40 years as either an associate teacher or a substitute teacher.
Yet friends and family over the years kept encouraging her to go after her degree.
One of the first was a co-worker at the Enlow Library, Donna Dean, who specifically suggested she look into a new UI program for continuing education. That was 1977; Beecher was among the first to enter the program.
“When I started, there was no computer technology,” she said. “We did it all without computers, and professors were willing to do this. But I would recommend that if someone wants to do this now, they know computers.”
Beecher said UI staff went out of their way to help her, with professors even visiting her weekly to help her, like Jim Maxie, her statistics instructor.
“I’m not so sure some professors now would do that,” she said.
Beecher, who with husband John co-owned the former Dogs & Cats Antique Store, was proud to say she mostly earned A’s and B’s and “only two or three C’s” in her classes.
“I did get very good grades,” she said.
She also preferred taking courses from home, individually, rather than attending classes with a group. She took every political science course UI offered and even outlived one of her professors.
Beecher has been active for years in the Democratic Party and “voted every year.” Her political activism took her to the White House four times, where she met President Jimmy Carter and President Lyndon Johnson.
She helped Edward “Ed” Mezvinsky get elected to U.S. representative in 1972, representing the First District of Iowa from 1973-77. Beecher also helped Herb Hinkhouse run successfully for state representative against the House Majority Leader in the 1970s.
Beecher said she was grateful that so many people along the way encouraged her to keep returning to the University of Iowa. She is the first of her family to attend college and get her degree. And, at her age, she said only nine of her high school’s graduating class — she attended Letts High School — are still around.
“It’s always great to have a degree,” she said. “I’ve always wanted one.”
After taking all of those political science classes and decades of activity in politics, Beecher said she “still thinks grassroots is the main thing.”
“I really do,” she said. “Candidates tend to forget those who don’t have e-mail … it’s easy to forget those people, but it is important to remember everybody. Probably no one walked and knocked on any more doors than I did.”
She thinks there is too much money spent on politics today and wishes candidates would spend more time doing their own campaigning.
A founding member of St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in West Branch, and one of only a handful of founding members still alive, Beecher was treated to an open house in her honor June 21 at the church.
“The church has been really good to me,” she said.
Beecher also was involved in the Girl Scouts for about 50 years.
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