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97-Year-Old Named 'Honorary Prom Queen' after Attending the Ball for the First Time in Her Life

Ra'eesah Manack
By Ra'eesah Manack
May 31, 2019
10:18 A.M.

"My favorite part was being there with all the kids, and having such a good time,” said 97-year-old Helen about her first Prom. Her granddaughter organized the special night for her.

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97-year-old Helen Danis revealed to her granddaughter, Julie Huddon, that she had never attended prom. Huddon decided that she needed to change that and this year's prom was the perfect place to do it.

Huddon not only organized for her grandmother to attend the high school event but Helen was also crowned honorary prom queen. She even shared a dance with Pilgrim High School's Principal Gerald Habershaw, who was crowned the honorary prom king.

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Huddon, 48, had always wanted to learn more about her grandmother’s life. The doting granddaughter from Warwick, Rhode Island told NBC News that her granny had a tough life with very few happy memories.

“I went over with a crown, made a note, and asked her if she would go to prom with me,” Huddon said.

She realized that her grandmother did not get to enjoy basic childhood activities like attending a prom and sitting on Santa’s lap. She decided to create a “bucket list” of things her grandmother needed to do.

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“She was telling me about the prom, how she couldn’t go because she couldn’t afford it,” explained Huddon.

Huddon’s son Evan is a senior at Pilgrim High School in Warwick. She decided this year's prom was the perfect opportunity to cross one of the bucket list items off.

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After checking with the principal Gerald Habershaw to make sure Helen could attend, Huddon went over to her house to invite her.

“I went over with a crown, made a note, and asked her if she would go to prom with me,” Huddon said. “She was all excited.”

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“I was shopping online and I saw this dress and thought ‘this is my grandmother, it’s screaming her name,’” Huddon explained. Danis then piped in saying, “I tried it on, it was very nice. It was the first time I tried a dress on and it fit without altering it."

On prom night the two got ready at Huddon’s house. She gave her grandmother a corsage before they joined Evan and his friends on a trolley to the prom.

In another heartwarming prom story, a teen mom used the opportunity to clap back at her haters and to show her daughter that she is the most important person in her life. Kayleigh Danielle Molloy Snaith took her two-year-old daughter to prom.

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