Whenever Christine Wiebe’s family came to visit, she’d tuck away any of her textbooks that were out in the open.
The Abbotsford mom, grandma and great-grandmother was keeping a secret from them, and it would take her more than three years to let them in on it.
Finally, last December, it was time.
Wiebe’s family has a Christmas tradition that involves the gift-giver providing a series of clues to the gift recipient until they can guess what the item is.
Last year, Wiebe presented each of her family members – including her two grown children and 10 grandchildren – an album with pictures taken the previous year. On top of each wrapped album was an envelope with an invitation.
Wiebe presented a series of clues that included, “Three of you still have to do this.” It took several suggestions before her family figured it out: The invitation was for a high school graduation in June 2017.
The clincher? The graduate would be Wiebe, 75.
At first, there was dead silence. Then, cheers and clapping filled the room. Several of Wiebe’s family members didn’t know that she had never completed high school.
None of them, except her husband, knew that she had begun working on that goal in 2013.
Last Tuesday, about 25 of Wiebe’s family watched – and cheered uproariously – as she crossed the floor in the Abbotsford Virtual School (AVS) gymnasium to receive her graduation certificate from principal Brad Hutchinson.
Not only was she the school’s oldest graduate in its 11-year history, but she was the most-senior high school graduate in the Abbotsford school district’s history.
Wiebe was ecstatic that she had completed this milestone that had been on her “bucket list” for decades.
“I couldn’t believe it was really happening. I was just so thrilled with the ceremony,” she said.
Wiebe is well-known in Abbotsford for her many years of volunteer service, including with the Chamber of Commerce, the Spirit of B.C., the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Crystal Gala committee, the Abbotsford Airshow, the Bakerview EcoDairy, the MSA Museum – and the list goes on.
She is the recipient of many awards, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for volunteerism, the Volunteer of the Year Award from Volunteer Abbotsford, and the Order of Abbotsford.
In 2010, a “Celebrating Christine” event was held at The Reach Gallery to acknowledge her many contributions to the community.
But it was always a goal of hers to complete her last year of high school, as well as to learn French. She got as far as Grade 11 in 1958, began working full-time as a parts clerk at a Vancouver car dealership, and left home.
Marriage and kids followed, and then came a busy career life, including serving as executive assistant to MLA Bill Ritchie from 1979 to ’86 and MLA Peter Dueck from ’86 to ’93.
About five years ago, Wiebe decided to start working on her goal of learning French. She purchased a instructional DVD program and began attending a group in Mission where she met a retired French teacher who became her tutor.
Wiebe was later involved in a French immersion group in Abbotsford, where she met a woman who had taught at AVS and, in general conversation, talked about how adults could take classes there.
Wiebe called up the school awhile later and arranged an appointment with a counsellor, who confirmed that Wiebe would need 20 more credits – five courses – to graduate. She was given four credits for her work experience, and she selected the remaining four online courses she would like to take.
Wiebe began her first course – accounting 11 – in September 2013 and worked through it until the following spring, achieving a final mark of 86 per cent.
She then took one course during each of the next three school years – communications 12, entrepreneurship 12 and French 12 – and finished with marks of 91, 100 and 98 per cent respectively.
Wiebe, who runs a small business that sells City of Abbotsford tartan clothing, said she noticed some differences attending school now, compared to as a teen.
“(The material) doesn’t stick as well,” she laughs. “It’s a lot more work, but you have other knowledge behind you that you can bring into it.”
Wiebe said it was important for her to finish high school because, as a young woman, she didn’t have a lot of support to accomplish her goals and she wanted to prove that she could do it. She hopes that she can motivate and inspire others to do things they might otherwise want to push aside.
“I’m a big believer that anything can happen at any time, and you can make it happen.”
This includes the third item on her bucket list – completing a mohair sweater that she began knitting at the age of 24. She already has some knitting lessons lined up with her French tutor.
SEE ALSO: Youngest graduate crosses stage at Abbotsford Virtual School
