“I worked here, retired here, and I’m still here,” Marion Randall quipped.

And that’s a good thing too, for all the lives that the 81-year-old Gloucester native has touched, and continues to touch, over her years as an educator, as well as an active community member and church volunteer.

Randall, who was born and grew up in the Bena area, is well known throughout Gloucester County. During her nearly 30 years teaching in Gloucester, she demonstrated a concern for her students that went beyond the classroom.

One year teaching fifth grade at T.C. Walker, Randall visited 50 homes out of the 54 students she was teaching, driving from one end of the county to the other. She said she valued this experience and enjoyed so much meeting the children’s parents in their homes. Often, they wanted her to stay and have a meal with them.

Randall noted other differences from her teaching days to today. She said she would not be able to do many of the projects now that she was able to do th...