98-year-old Alumna Earns Degree

Paula O’Neil had no idea what was waiting for her under the piece of tissue paper on the table as her family gathered, watching in anticipation, at her daughter’s home in Evergreen, Colorado, on Mother’s Day this year. Her arthritic fingers trembled as she lifted the paper to reveal a diploma, stole and tassel. The 98-year-old could not fully comprehend what she was looking at, until her daughter, Laurie O’Neil, told her:

“Well, you just graduated from college yesterday from the University of Montana.”

The moment Paula dreamed of for nearly 70 years finally had arrived. And also included in her Mother’s Day surprise was an edited proof of her most recent and final book.

Paula, who has been a writer most of her years, never graduated college.

“That is her life’s regret,” Laurie says.

Frances Pauline Meagher – “Paula” – began writing in middle school and wrote her latest book three years ago, when she turned 95 years old. The collection of short stories, called “Once Upon a Village,” is a 120-page novella based on the town and people of East Hatley, Quebec, where she lived when she was 13.

Paula’s parents emigrated from England and Ireland, and the first tale, “The Irish Story,” describes how she ended up in the French Provinces of Canada. One evening, she heard her parents arguing and eavesdropped on them. She remembered her father saying, “I’m going back to Ireland. I can’t stand New York, and it’s where I was meant to be.”

Two weeks later her father had left, and Paula soon found herself on a plane to East Hatley, an idyllic little village now boasting 750 residents. She lived with her aunt and uncle for two years, and eventually her parents got back together, choosing to buy a house there.

After living in Canada, Paula moved to Long Island during high school and, in 1946, decided to attend UM in Missoula to major in English and minor in French.

When Paula took the entrance exam for the beginning-level French class, Laurie says she “flat-out failed it.” Paula visited the professor’s office.

“I speak French,” she told him. “And I’m wondering if I can take the second-level French.”

As the story goes, the professor decided to give her a chance, and she passed the second, harder test. She didn’t know the grammar associated with the first one, but she was so fluent, she could begin the second-level class.
It was at UM that Paula met her husband, Richard O’Neil, who enrolled at the same time. He served in World War II and graduated in June 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Laurie recalls one story of her parents from before they were married – the two of them were waiting for a bus to downtown Missoula. When it arrived, Paula immediately started pushing her way to the front, even though there were only around 10 people riding.

“She was, after all,” Laurie says, “from New York.”

Paula attended UM from 1946 to 1948. When she married Richard and became pregnant in 1948, she had to withdraw from classes at UM. The rule then – as it was at most universities – was a pregnant student could not attend school.

She moved to Ohio and then Colorado with Richard, who worked in sales for a school bus company. She had a son, Dennis, in 1949; Laurie came in 1953.

But that didn’t stop Paula. For nearly 15 years – until December 1960 – she took correspondence classes from UM, earning 73 credits, enough for an Associate of Arts with a minor in French, but just shy of an English degree.
Paula receiving her degree now, seven decades later, is a historic event.

“Awarding a degree from 1948, 70 years after it was earned, is unprecedented for the Registrar’s Office,” says Joseph Hickman, UM registrar. “A few years ago we awarded a degree to a student 40 years after she had earned it, but this new record is unlikely to be surpassed.”

“No more regrets for Mom for never having graduated,” Laurie says. “Her life is complete.”

— By Courtney Brockman