EMPORIA, Kansas — Longtime Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger was honored as a 2024 addition to the National Memorial to Fallen Educators in ceremonies Friday in Emporia.
The memorial, which was founded by the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 2012 in order to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, stands as “a permanent tribute to those who lost their lives in the line of duty,” according to the memorial’s website.
Marburger died in January after a shooting at the Perry High School, where he worked for 27 years. Also killed was 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, and several other children and adults were injured by the gunfire.
Speaking at Friday’s ceremonies, a tearful Elizabeth Marburger of Perry, wife of the fallen educator, thanked Emporia State University and the founders of the memorial for their honoring of her husband, according to a report in the Emporia Gazette.
“We will treasure each and every trip we make here to pay tribute to our Dan,” she said.
Also honored at the 2024 rededication ceremony was Ryan Lantz, a teacher at Liberty High School in Clarksburg, West Virginia, who was hit killed by a vehicle in the school parking lot on Feb. 20. Lantz was a 1990 graduate of Liberty High School, and he returned to teach there for 10 years. He is remembered as a dedicated father, grandfather, uncle, coach and pastor.
Dan Marburger will again be honored posthumously in August as a Character Champion during the 2024 Iowa Character Awards, a program of the Ray Center at Drake University. Details about the event will be forthcoming.
