Originally Posted by Cricket2
My understanding from my mother (they married when I was an adult), is that he grew up in a very small rural area, didn't do particularly fabulously in early school and was sent off to military school or boarding school of some sort around high school. I am sure that he didn't skip any grades, though.

So he didn't "make it" himself. My spouse was in the same situation. His mom jumped through hoops to get him into a boarding school for HS.