Eatonville, Washington will have a rather somber claim to fame soon as National Park Ranger Margaret Anderson will be posthumously honored by the United States Postal Service. The Post Office in Eatonville has announced that it will be dedicating its main branch to Anderson’s memory. State Congressional officials authorized the ceremony and a plaque has been prepared, which will be presented at the ceremony.
Anderson was shot in 2012 while carrying out her duties as a ranger at Mount Rainier National Park. She died as a result of her wounds.
The event will be attended by both current and former Mount Rainier National Park rangers as well as by city officials and post office employees and management. Anderson’s relatives as well as Mount Rainier National Park superintendent Randy King will be keynote speakers at the ceremony.
Anderson was a 12 year veteran with the National Park Service. She was described by her colleagues and superiors as one of the hardest working rangers that the Park has ever known. According to the other rangers, Anderson loved her job and was an example of what a park ranger in any national park in the country should be.
Anderson lost her life during an attempt to prevent a park visitor from running away from the Park’s ranger station. She parked her vehicle on the main road leading out of the park as a way of blocking the fleeing man’s attempt to get away. The man fired his weapon at Anderson and at four others in the area. The other four were injured but Anderson was the only one killed.
She left behind a husband, also a Mount Rainier park ranger, and two children.