GORHAM, N.H. (AP) – George Bilodeau should have been a member of the Gorham High School Class of 1952. Fifty-three years later, he will get his chance to be recognized.

He will receive an honorary diploma at the June 2005 graduation ceremony.

Bilodeau, now 70, left school after his junior year in 1951 for the Navy from which he retired in 1973 as chief petty officer, but not before he also served a stint in the Air Force.

He spent years furthering his education, earning high school and college equivalency diplomas and courses in building construction and civil engineering technology.

But Bilodeau felt he missed out on his Gorham High diploma.

Principal Keith Parent said Bilodeau first contacted him more than year ago to inquire about an honorary diploma.

“He was a gentleman who felt a real void in his life because he had quit school after his junior year,” Parent said. “He really felt it was a void he wanted to fill.”

Bilodeau had to meet certain requirements to be eligible for the honorary diploma, in his case serving the country during wartime.

The Gorham School Board approved his request last week and Parent shared the good news with Bilodeau.

“I talked to him after the (school board) meeting and he was very pleased,” Parent said. “He’s a neat guy.”

Now living in Buckfield, Maine, Bilodeau had worked as an electrician until his retirement in 2001.

Bilodeau is married and has two children who attend college in Nova Scotia. Though retired, he still works small jobs for friends, family and neighbors.


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