WATERLOO - Johnnie Carey Jr. didn't learn to read during his very limited education in the Mississippi delta.

He remained illiterate while working for 32 years at Rath Packing Co., and for four years in the laundry room at Allen Hospital. It wasn't until his son, Carl, asked him to join the church he was starting that Carey began seriously looking for a way to learn how to read. After all, Carey wanted to be able to read the Bible if he was going to join the church.

That led Carey to Hawkeye Community College's Metro Center in the fall of 1999. He worked one-on-one with a reading tutor for three years.

"I couldn't read very well, so I decided I would come here and see if I could learn to read a little better," said Carey, who is 81. He is starting his eighth year of adult basic education classes at the center, with the goal of further improving his reading and writing skills.

Today is International Literacy Day, founded in 1967 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. The 2003 National Assessment of Literacy estimated that 39 percent of Americans - or 93 million adults - lack functional literacy. That means they cannot carry out everyday functions that require reading skills.

Carey was one of those people. Born in 1928, he was raised by his grandparents, who worked as sharecroppers.

Carey attended school part time from first through third grade, but the family's need to make money got in the way of his education.

"We had to go to the field and pick cotton," he said. "I wouldn't have the time to go to school." Carey spent full days in the fields from the end of August until after Christmas.

Carey arrived in Waterloo in 1952, following a friend who had gotten a job. He found one at The Rath Packing Co. and stayed there until 1984. He worked for another four years at Allen Hospital before retiring.

His lack of reading and writing skills made advancement at work difficult.

"I couldn't get jobs that I wanted to," said Carey. "I could read a few words. I couldn't write. I could write my name, that was about all."

He didn't broadcast his illiteracy, even to family members. Carey's eight children were unaware that he couldn't read.

"I didn't tell them, and they didn't ask," he said. That included the son who invited Carey to join his new church. "He didn't really know that I didn't know how to read."

But that was the push he needed. "I always wanted to come back to school," said Carey. And he's been faithful in his attendance.

"He and his tutor met for two solid years," said Sandy Jensen, the Metro Center's manager. "I don't think we've ever had another student who never missed in two years."

That commitment continued when he started adult basic education. He regularly attends the program five mornings per week, only missing for such things as doctor appointments.

"Right now we're trying to focus on phonics," said instructor Jack Whitchelo, a retired Waterloo Community Schools teacher. "John's come a long way. He's even on the computer now, which he wouldn't want to touch before."

Carey said the learning process has been "a little harder than I thought it would be." Still, he has appreciated the classes. "I learned to read better and write better. It felt real good."

And, although the church Carey joined has since closed, he is still reading his Bible.