Posted by JOSH FLORY on 9/17/2021
Margrett Hunt was a passionate advocate for reading, and that legacy will be carried on at Adrian Burnett Elementary School.
This month, the school unveiled a rocking chair in honor of Hunt, who retired in 2017 and passed away in July after a struggle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Teachers and former teachers from ABES raised money for the “reader rocker”, which will be part of the school library.
Dottie McComas, who retired from the school in 2016, said Hunt would often decorate the school library for reading celebrations, with themes including a medieval castle and a spaceship.
For the annual Read Across America Day, Hunt would dress as a book character, donning a Mary Poppins costume one year and another year appearing as “Thing 1”, from “The Cat in the Hat.”
“She loved reading and a lot of her children excelled in reading because of the enthusiasm that she inspired in them,” McComas said.
At a ceremony on Sept. 9, members of Hunt’s family came to celebrate the new rocking chair, including her husband, daughter, a niece and a grandson.
McComas said a group of retired ABES teachers meets once a month, and helped to raise money for the chair. They also helped raise money for the CJD Foundation, which supports patients and families affected by Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and helps fund research.
Stephanie Prince, the principal of ABES, said Hunt had a passion for teaching that was contagious, and always kept the school staff on their toes: “Having this rocking chair in our library is the perfect way to honor her, and we are looking forward to taking it to our new building next year.”
