Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner’s dedication to the Burtonsville community was unparalleled, according to friends, family and area residents, and now her legacy will be visible in the community after two county buildings were dedicated on Saturday in her honor.
The Fairland Library and adjacent Fairland Community Recreation Center, at 14906 Old Columbia Pike, were renamed the Marilyn J. Praisner Center in a ceremony in honor of the late councilwoman.
Praisner was the longest serving woman on the Montgomery County Council. She was serving her fifth four-year term for District 4 when she died Feb. 1 of complications following heart surgery.
County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said at the ceremony that Praisner never stopped fighting for her constituents. She fought for sidewalks, buses and the library and recreation center that she loved so much, he said.
‘‘We’re saddened that the warm, vibrant echo of hope for our county is not here,” he said.
Eugene Neal, a retired program manager for the county Department of Recreation, said before the library and recreation center were built, eastern Montgomery County was ‘‘a forgotten location.”
Praisner changed all of that, he said.
The library was built 13 years ago without any hitches but the recreation center was another story, said Lee Klumpp, a resident of Burtonsville and the father-in-law of one of Praisner’s daughters.
Construction on the recreation center had to be postponed for about 10 years because of budget issues, but Praisner was instrumental in making sure it eventually got built, he said.
The Fairland Community Recreation Center was completed in 2002.
‘‘Marilyn pushed for something on this side of the county for youth,” Klumpp said.
At Saturday’s ceremony, during which signs marking the building in Praisner’s name were unveiled, local politicians, about 50 residents and Praisner’s friends and family came together under the blazing sun to celebrate her contribution to the recreation center and library, as well as the community.
‘‘No one is more deserving than Marilyn J. Praisner,” said Anise Key Brown, director of the Eastern Montgomery Regional Center. ‘‘She truly loved us and we truly loved her.”
Also on hand was her husband, Donald Praisner, who was recently elected to the County Council to fill her spot.
‘‘This is a little difficult for me,” he said, before handing over the podium to his children and grandchildren.
Marilyn J. Praisner’s daughter Allison Klumpp said one of her fears after her mother died was that people would not remember her.
Now Marilyn Praisner’s name will live on in the community center, Klumpp said, before being overcome with emotion.
While serving in the County Council, Marilyn J. Praisner was selected three times by the Daily Record for Maryland’s Top 100 Women Award, was named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the area’s most powerful women and received the Woman of the Year Award in 2000 by the Montgomery County Business and Professional Women’s Club.
Burtonsville resident Len Newman said Saturday’s ceremony perfectly captured Praisner’s service to the county.
‘‘It was a very tasteful, very appropriate and very fitting tribute and recognition for all Marilyn has done,” he said.
