Memorials dedicated to former administrator
By Penny Gruetzmacher
Correspondent
Pamela Knorr, who served the Walworth Joint 1 School District as administrator for more than 20 years was honored with two memorials on June 3. The library at Walworth Grade School was renamed the Pamela Knorr Memorial Library and a memorial bench in front of the school dedicated.
Knorr died on Nov. 4, 2014, at the age of 58, after battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Pick’s disease, which is a form of dementia.
School Board member Jacob Ries opened the dedication ceremony, followed by tributes from Interim District Administrator Pam Larson, Interim Principal Brent Wilson and new District Administrator MaryAnn Kahl.
After the dedication, those attending were welcomed to enjoy cake, desserts and lemonade. As a special remembrance, the dessert table included a selection of Tootsie Roll Pops, which were Pamela’s favorite candy.
The memorial bench is located on the lawn in the front of Walworth Grade School. It features two children reading and a tri-colored beech tree donated by the Gerdes family. Donations for the project are still welcomed and can be sent to to the grade school, specifying Pam Knorr Memorial.
Kindergarten teacher Laura Hummel said during the school day on June 3, each teacher brought their students out to look at the memorial and answer any questions the students might have about it. The teachers explained about Knorr as the younger students did not really know her.
Afterward, the students went to Knorr’s former office and got a Tootsie Roll Pop.
Knorr started her career at the grade school in August 1994. A friend of the community and the district, Ries said she help start Village Fest and Safety Town in Walworth. She also worked on the district’s Early Childhood curriculum, the 4K program and the $4.2 million school renovation in 1997. She received Wisconsin Master Educator’s Award in 2007.
She was also involved with the relocation of Highway 14 and Rotary Club and was named Citizen of the Year for Walworth in 2010.
Larson said Knorr lived life with “integrity” and her loves were reading and children.
She recounted how Knorr started a breakfast program for students that still continues and a summer food program in June and July during summer school. Knorr also helped provide food baskets for more than 100 Walworth area families and supported Caring Closet, so no child went without proper clothing.
She worked with the Walworth Children’s Foundation, Outdoor Education, and found dental services for needy children. Larson said Knorr never wanted a child to suffer and was a supporter of Open Arms Clinic.
Brent Wilson talked about how Knorr believed in him when she hired him 13 years ago and how grateful he was for the time she gave the district, the teachers and the kids.
He said he believes her spirit lives on in the Walworth school and community.
When it was Kahl’s turn, she recounted an interview she had conducted with Knorr that she also conducted with other administrators in the early 2000s.
One of the questions during the interview had to do with how to manifest love. Some of Knorr’s responses to the question included: give unselfishly to others, give time, care about the people you work with and care for the kids.
Tasia Knorr, Pamela Knorr’s daughter-in-law, spoke on behalf of the Knorr family saying the Knorr family was carrying on after the loss and the tree, bench and library naming was a huge comfort for the family and herself. She said Pamela Knorr believed in all people and reading was the way to the future.
My Grandma was a very nice and kind person she died when I was only four so I didn’t know how to react. I miss her very much,