Last year, a group of retired teachers gathered to honor area educators and leave their mark behind – more than just in the form of those they’ve educated.

They came up with a plan to place grave markers, noting where a former educator was laid to rest. 

With the help of the CCCHS metal shop, the markers were sketched and cut. While costs were covered by recipients’ family members and local donors, while Double L donated a sheet of metal and paint was gifted by Gibson’s. 

In total, 31 grave markers were placed. In preparation for Memorial Day this year,additional markers are up for sponsorship, said Pat James. 

A retired teacher herself, James said the $30 sponsorship is a great way to honor a lost loved one or favorite teacher. 

“It’s a one-time purchase,” she said. “We just want to get the word out that we’re going to do it again and add any additional graves to commemorate.” 

Each marker includes a laminated card that shares who sponsored the marker. 

James said rural grave markers can be maintained by the family, whether they want to pick them up seasonally or leave them in place. Six retired teachers placed and picked up markers in Greenwood Cemetery last year, and plan to do the same once they are given the go-ahead for Memorial Day grave ornamentation. 

The group made their own map of the graves, which includes a “teacher’s row” at the entrance of Greenwood, several in the Catholic section, and those that are spread throughout. 

James said she got the idea when volunteering in the cemetery.

“I thought ‘Teachers should have something to remember them by,’” she said. Then she and other retired educators began working at the retired teachers’ monthly meetings to secure the markers.

To learn more or to sponsor a grave marker, head to the Legendary Leaders of Learners Facebook page. 

The two markers to the left will sit seasonally at the graves of Charles “Chuck” and Marion Stuart. The former was a superintendent of USD 379 for nearly 30 years, while Marion worked as a teacher for 25 years before both retired in 1988.

Current markers will be placed for:

Ross Knitter, LaVern Schooley, John “Blackie” Lane, Francis Anderson, Florene James, Betty Algren, Carol Slingsby, Ron Hammel, James Martyn, Loren Barker, Dodie Reed, Dorothy Friesen Bauer, Eric Friesen, Richard Grinage, Patti Ferguson, Ellen Rook, Dean Oberhelman, Charles Stuart, Marion Stuart, Joe Beck, Gloria Beck, Linda Siebold, Jane Zacharias, Ruth Ann Smith, Georgia Hemphill, Juanita Peter, Charlotte Christensen Stagner, Esther Larson Earnest, Wayne Snodgrass, Ray Booth, Dorothy Gerardy