97-Year-Old Woman Reportedly Named ‘Honorary Prom Queen’ as She Attends First Prom Ever
Prom seems to fill every little girl’s daydreams, ranking right up there with her wedding day. But prom night can be expensive.
You have to think about shoes, a dress, a hairstyle, nails, makeup and of course the ticket. Maybe you even go in on a limo and stop for a meal at a fancy restaurant first.
All of that can add up to hundreds — and for some even thousands — of dollars, and all for just one night. Still, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience you are meant to remember forever.
But 97-year-old Helen Danis of West Warwick, Rhode Island, never had the chance to experience a prom night.
“I couldn’t keep up with the kids,” Danis told Turn to 10 News. “I didn’t really fit in. We were in the middle of a depression and money was scarce.”
A lot has changed since the 1920s. Now that the grandmother is nearing 100, she’s started checking items off her bucket list with the help of her granddaughter, Julie Huddon.
Huddon told Liftable, a section of the Western Journal, that she suspected that her grandmother had felt bad about her inability to attend her own prom when she was a teen.
“Grammie couldn’t afford to go to the prom when she was younger, she felt bad that she couldn’t keep up with the other kids,” Huddon said. “She didn’t say it was embarrassment, but I believe deep down it was.
“I love going to her house to listen to her old stories, and not going to prom came up a few times.”
“We’ve been doing a lot of things that she has said she wanted to do,” Huddon told Turn to 10. “She sat on Santa’s lap for the first time in December. I never know about her. She’s full of surprises.”
One surprise Huddon wanted to give her “Grammie” was the prom night she never got to attend. So Huddon told Liftable that she went to the principal at Pilgrim High School, where her son attends, and sought out the principal.
She asked permission to attend the school’s senior prom, held at the “Rhodes on the Pawtuxet.” While some schools have strict rules about who can attend their functions, an exception was made in this case.
Once she got the official go-ahead, Huddon completed the surprise with her own “promposal” — a paper heart asking that Danis be her date. “As soon as I gave it to her, she loved it,” Huddon said.
New on the night team— a “PromPosal” for the ages. A local 97 year-old is heading to Pilgrim High School’s prom, she never got to attend her own. It’s a story you don’t want to miss @ 11. @NBC10 pic.twitter.com/u0D9qKpL2o
— Sam Read (@NBC10_Sam) May 21, 2019
The ladies got all dressed up and Danis looked particularly stunning in her lavender gown and tiara. The principal not only welcomed Huddon and Danis, he made sure that Danis got to dance, too!
Huddon told Liftable that her grandma said the principal “Was a gentleman and danced her across the dance floor to her table.”
Look who had a BLAST at her first prom ever! 97 year-old Helen Danis! @NBC10 pic.twitter.com/Ci9Zf7xLZp
— Sam Read (@NBC10_Sam) May 25, 2019
She added that her grammie was named “Honorary Prom Queen” and she said “she had a great time with all the kids and it was a night to remember.”
One dance of the evening included the “Hully Gully,” which originated in the 1960s. The students also danced the popular “Cupid Shuffle” and “Cha-Cha Slide” with the active senior.
#UPDATE: Helen Danis, 97, of West Warwick, went to her first prom Friday night and was named honorary prom queen. Check out her dance moves! @NBC10_Sam has the story: https://t.co/f9ahmIK1Vp pic.twitter.com/nr7v2Ww0H6
— NBC 10 WJAR (@NBC10) May 26, 2019
Look at her go! There’s no slowing down this grandmother. She’s got more energy than some teenagers I’ve seen!
Did you get to attend your high school prom? If not, would you go to one if ever given the chance later on in life?
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