A 78-year-old man has finally received his high school diploma, which he had been expecting for 60 years. Ted Sams, along with members of the San Gabriel High School class of 2022, graduated from high school on May 27 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

In 1962, a San Gabriel citizen was a senior in high school, but a series of obstacles, including a $4.80 book charge, caused him to drop out without receiving his graduation.

According to Sams, his problems began the same year, when he was suspended just five days before the school year finished for ‘simply messing about.’

As a result, he missed a key final exam, which he subsequently made up during the summer. The cost of books was the next roadblock in his desire to graduate from high school.

It appeared to be the last straw. He told KABC-TV, ‘When I went back with my grade, they wouldn’t give me my diploma because I owed $4.80 for a book, so I just walked away and said forget it.’

Sams chose to walk away in the heat of the moment, but he afterwards regretted his decision for years.

He would frequently recount how he was unable to walk at his own high school graduation due to a looming book cost.’I lamented to my kids a few times over the years about how $4.80 delayed me from getting my diploma,’ he explained.

Sams’ daughters Sherry and Sally, as well as their husbands, contacted the school when their father received his graduation a few months before the celebration this year. They also came to the graduation party to support their father.

‘Just to watch this come to fruition, I guess, got a little choked up,’ Sally explained. ‘Everyone applauding him, shaking his hand, and then the entire audience shouting for him was incredibly wonderful, especially since I was recording it. It was enjoyable.’

Sams told The Pasadena Star-News that he was both excited and worried about the ceremony ahead of time. He later described it as one of the most memorable days of his life.

‘What do you expect when you have your picture taken and everyone are cheering for you? I wasn’t expecting any of it, but what can I say?’ the Californian shared his thoughts.

Everyone on stage hugged her father ‘as he walked and received his diploma,’ Sherry said, adding that ‘everyone, and I suppose most of the people in the stands, too, were cheering and applauding.’

‘They knew he was there from 1962 and they knew his tale because the principal had talked about it,’ she continued, ‘so both myself and my sister got tearful because the whole stadium kind of came to a standstill.’