A 100-year-old man who left Michigan State University "a few credits short" of graduating during the Great Depression is getting his degree.

The Bay City Times reports the East Lansing school on Thursday awarded Fred Sheill an honorary degree in forestry. And it's more than a mere plum for Sheill, who has spent a lifetime in the nursery business and farms 10 acres in Arenac County's Au Gres.

Sheill says he couldn't afford the final credits to graduate in 1931 and figured he'd taken enough classes to run his own nursery. He owned The Sheill Nursery in Birmingham for 32 years.

He now sells day lilies via brochures placed at businesses throughout the region.

A customer turned to a state lawmaker, who lobbied the university to honor Sheill.


source: clickondetroit.com

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