A new playground, walking trail, and wing of Washington Elementary School in Junction City have been named after the school’s late principal Lorraine Walker.

During a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony Larry Hicks, Geary County Commissioner, stated “But I knew after I went through my period of grief and sorrow that what she represented needs to be acknowledged by those she touched both personally and professionally.”

Walker served as principal at Washington Elementary School from 1988 until her death in April of 2014. She was also a teacher at the school from 1981 until 1986.   She was also active in the community, with the Second Missionary Baptist Church, the Martin Luther King Jr. committee, and she had served as president of the Dorothy Bramlage Public Library Board of Trustees.

Hicks said, “Lorraine Walker for perpetuity will have a good name in the annals of history for school district 475, as well as for the City of Junction City and Geary County. She was the embodiment of what a person of selflessness, compasion and humility should look like.”

Walker’s sister, Sabrina Ware told the audience attending the ceremony that even more than a year after her death her work continues to been seen in the school. “We continue to feel her quite humble spirit as we continue to serve and educate and encourage and lift up the children, these children, our children.”

In addition to numerous representatives from USD 475, the student body of Washington Elementary School attended the ceremony.