Willow Elementary School held a ceremony to honor the renaming of their library after the “unofficial mayor of San Ysidro.”
The elementary school has renamed its library after Ramon N. Parra, who dedicated his life to the betterment of the San Ysidro community.
“It was a complete surprise because he’s been gone for over 30 years,” said Oscar Parra, Ramon N. Parra’s son.
Ramon N. Parra died in 1988 after serving for 18 years as a San Ysidro School Board Member. He was also a founder of the San Ysidro Little League and was chosen to greet and host U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy when he visited San Ysidro on June 3, 1968.
“For 18 years he dutifully served our students, their parents, and district employees as a San Ysidro School Board Member. He promoted and watched over the implementation of innovative educational programs and construction improvements of San Ysidro Schools,” read a petition filed to the San Ysidro School Board to request the renaming.
Oscar Parra said this renaming was made possible by the Friends of San Ysidro club. The club filed the petition for the renaming.
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They launched a GoFundMe campaign in September to help raise money to purchase the lettering above the building. The group raised more than $2,000 and the school district contributed another $2,000.
“It’s tremendous to have this amount of support not only from the community but from the district,” Oscar Parra said.
