LaPearl Haynes poses with the plaque dedicating a room at Dunkirk's secondary school to her husband, Roosevelt.

The Rev. Roosevelt Haynes is warmly remembered in the Dunkirk community. Tuesday, that remembrance was formalized with a plaque.

The Dunkirk school district renamed its Large Group Instruction Room in the junior-senior high school after Haynes. He was a longtime member of the Board of Education, and the school board normally meets in the room. In fact, they met after the ceremony.

The room was filled with friends and family of Haynes, who passed in 2018, with some people forced to stand.

His widow, LaPearl, was the center of attention at the ceremony, posing for photos with his plaque afterwards. She offered brief remarks, as did District Superintendent Mike Mansfield.

Mansfield spoke of Haynes’ “steadfast work and commitment” and described a bit of his life.

Haynes was the youngest of seven children and attended a one-room schoolhouse in Tennessee, going on to graduate from college in Alabama. “He married his high school sweetheart, LaPearl, who is with us this evening,” Mansfield mentioned, drawing a round of applause.

“The couple moved to Dunkirk in 1968 and Roosevelt dutifully served his community for the next 50 years,” Mansfield continued. The superintendent offered a partial list of Haynes’ many committees and groups. He was on city of Dunkirk committees for charter revision and codes and was on the boards of directors for the city youth bureau and its housing authority, for example.

He also was president, vice president, and clerk of the Dunkirk Board of Education during 18 years of service with that group.