The memory of a former city commissioner will live on at East Heights Early Childhood Family Center, 1430 Haskell Ave.

The Lawrence Schools Foundation dedicated a classroom at the center Wednesday in honor of Nancy Shontz, who served as city commissioner from 1981 to 1985.

Lawrence resident William Dann donated $50,000 last spring to the foundation to dedicate an Early Childhood Educational Readiness classroom in Shontz’s name.

“There is a need for the pre-school in the community, and there are all kinds of splendid people in the community that I think deserve more recognition than maybe they received,” Dann said. “Nancy was one of those people. She was an astonishing woman.”

Shontz, who died in 1999, was known for advocating for neighborhood issues and preserving local history. She also helped found the Lawrence Preservation Alliance.

Lawrence Schools Foundation trustee Hank Booth said Shontz taught him one of the most important things he has learned.

“Nancy and I, we didn’t see eye to eye on everything,” he said. “But she taught me to disagree agreeably. I thank her for that.”

The Lawrence Early Childhood Education Readiness program began in 1996 at East Heights. Other classroom dedications have honored former educators Jesse Milan, Gertrude Ruttan and Ray Wilbur; Douglas County District Judge Jean Shepherd; and civic activist Anna “Petey” Ballard Cerf. An infant-toddler classroom was dedicated in honor of former Lawrence students LaTonya Farmer and Brandy Martin.

Lawrence Schools Foundation Executive Director Susan Esau said donations made by Dann, the Ethel and Raymond Rice Foundation and several private contributors had been instrumental in helping the early childhood program expand.

The schools foundation currently is pursuing a goal of raising $28,000 through its “Every Family Counts” annual campaign to continue its mission of supporting the Lawrence school district. Esau said the foundation was $15,000 short of reaching its goal before the end of the year.