Northeastern Honors Smith with Certificate of Lifetime Achievement

TAHLEQUAH It's been 61 years since Nora Smith (89) received her bachelor's degree in education from Northeastern State College. Though family obligations would keep Smith from earning her master's degree, they did not keep her from doing what she loved. Smith spent 31 years teaching children in Oklahoma and Missouri during her career.

On Saturday, May 8, Smith returned to her alma mater to join more than 1,250 graduate candidates during Northeastern State University's 100th commencement service. The Missouri native received a Certificate of Lifetime Achievement honoring her dedication to the ideals of education.

Determined to have a career and family during a time when doing both was not so common, Smith juggled a growing family (she and her husband had four children from 1935 to 1952) and full-time studies to graduate from Northeastern State College with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1943. Following graduation, Smith began teaching in a country school outside Tahlequah and continued educating within the state until she moved to Kansas City in 1948.

Smith taught in several school districts including Peculiar, Grandview, and Hickman Mills before retiring in 1974 to care for her ailing husband. Upon his death in 1977, Yorty became the support structure for her family, caring for her four children and helping raise her grandchildren. A healthy and energetic cancer survivor, Smith continues to be a valued and active member in her family, church, and community of Belton, MO. She enjoys 10 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.

Services were held on May 8 in Tahlequah and May 10 in Broken Arrow to accommodate graduate candidates from the University's five academic colleges and the professional College of Optometry. According to Bill Nowlin, NSU dean of Enrollment Management/Registrar, overall figures show one of the highest spring graduation counts since 1998 and a more than 100 student increase over one year ago.