As a teacher and an administrator, Lonnie B. Keller was respected by his colleagues and his students. He was also known for his attention to detail, his quick wit and trademark smile.

He would have been grinning from ear-to-ear on Tuesday night.

Lonnie B. Keller Middle School was officially dedicated at a special ceremony and open house. The building, which housed San Jacinto Intermediate School until this year, is where Keller first served as principal in 1959. In early 2008, the Pasadena ISD Board of Trustees approved making the former San Jacinto campus into a middle school campus for fifth and sixth grade students. San Jacinto Intermediate moved into a new building at the beginning of this school year.

“History certainly has come full circle,” said Dr. Kirk Lewis, Pasadena ISD superintendent. “Mr. Keller was always focused on doing what was right for kids. He truly left a legacy that has shaped this school district. Through the opening of this school, that legacy will continue to live on.”

Keller began his career as a teacher at Southmore Intermediate School in 1946 and later became assistant principal. He then served as principal of San Jacinto from 1959-1965. Keller became principal at Pasadena High School in 1967 and retired in 1982.

Several of Keller’s family were in attendance at the dedication, including his wife Reba and daughter Sandy Simmons.

“In meeting Mrs. Keller and talking with others that knew Mr. Keller, I have learned that not only was he a great educator, he was a great man,” said Keller Principal Diane Phelan. “Students said that he was a teacher that everyone wanted to be around.”

While the teachers at Keller encourage students to do their best, they have also embraced Lonnie Keller’s feelings of community pride. In that spirit, the school’s Ecology Club has undertaken many beautification projects on campus. The school’s art students also created a paved walkway to the campus ecology center. One of the teachers and his father built picnic benches for the school courtyard.

“What you see out there today is just the beginning.  Like Mr. Keller’s legacy, it is our hope that this will continue to grow over time,” Phelan said.

In addition to the history shared about Keller, the dedication featured performances by the school’s band, choir and orchestra. After the ceremony, tours were given of the refurbished campus.