At 90, Kenneth Frisbie Jr. finally did.

Frisbie was among 3,000 Tallahassee Community College Spring 2020, Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 graduates to be honored in a virtual ceremony.

“I’m excited to be finishing something that I started,” Frisbie told the Democrat on Saturday morning. “It means something. When you start something, let’s finish. It also encourages people who have started an educational journey. Regardless of their age, you can complete the job. “

The Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Science / Legal Studies is Frisbie’s second degree from TCC.

In 2002, at the age of 71, he began taking courses at TCC, graduating as a General Associate in Arts Transfer in 2011, at age 80.

He was able to transfer some of the credits he earned in 1949 from Rutgers University to his native state of New Jersey, before enlisting in the military, where he was a paratrooper.

He started the second degree in 2011, taking classes as best he could, he said.

“It took me a long time,” said Frisbie, who completed her last online class. “I enjoyed the classes on campus a lot more than the online work.”

His daughter, Angela Linton, a TCC graduate who works as an assistant to the Dean of Career Planning and Academic Planning at TCC, encouraged her father to continue to complete the last step towards his second degree.

“He took a break from his classes and started ‘Ubering’ and he really wanted to finish this last class,” she said.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Linton forced him out of the driver’s seat.

“I helped him register for his last class,” she says. “I’m impressed. This class has kept his mind sharp.

Frisbie moved her family to Tallahassee in the early 1960s from the Orlando area. He accepted a job as a manager of Walgreens. He then became involved in the restaurant business, as general manager of the Fat Man’s BBQ chain, which required travel throughout the state.

He later became the owner of the Tallahassee site, then located on Apalachee Parkway, east of Capital Circle. This was followed by other food companies, including the ownership of the Jim & Milt barbecue restaurant on West Pensacola Street.

He went on to own Ken’s Kitchen, a mobile business providing snacks to local construction sites and state offices.

Along the way, Frisbie took suicide prevention training classes at Florida State University and then worked as an online counselor, a job he loved before he retired and later enrolled for. first time at TCC.

Two of Frisbie’s children and two grandchildren graduated from TCC. Currently, her great-granddaughter, Carra Whaley, is studying nursing there, and a great-grandson is planning to attend this fall.

“I tell people all the time that if my 90 year old great-grandfather can do it, you can do it, I can do it, anyone can do it”

Whaley said in a TCC statement. “It’s really inspiring that he continues his studies, especially at his age, but also keeps his mind healthy.”

Frisbie, who now lives with Linton in Thomasville, Ga., Said TCC gave him the experience he was looking for and the support to continue.

“I probably won’t be a paralegal. I just enjoyed it and will use this information, ”he said of his studies. “I learned a lot on the Internet thanks to this (last) course.”

In his brief remarks, CTC President Jim Murdaugh offered some thoughts to the graduates who seem to touch Frisbie’s journey as well.

“I commend you for the time and effort you put in as a student at TCC,” he said. “Education takes great perseverance, sometimes in the face of great obstacles, so now is the time to capitalize on your success.”

After:CTC President Jim Murdaugh remains optimistic about spring registrations

After:Tallahassee Community College named one of 10 national finalists for $ 1 million prize

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at [email protected] or on Twitter @byrondobson.

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