Holly King, a special education teacher in Montgomery County, was killed two years ago as the remnants of Hurricane Helene moved through the area.
This past week, she was remembered as an outstanding teacher at Eastern Montgomery High School with the dedication of an outdoor garden classroom to the rear of the school.
Gardening was one of her pastimes, and speakers said it was fitting the former teacher was remembered in this way.
Mark Eaton is an agriculture teacher at Eastern Montgomery High School and spearheaded the idea of remembering Martin through the dedication of the outdoor classroom at the school. This past week, he called her a friend and colleague.
“She came to us with full energy. Always respectful and kind to students, so encouraging, loving and tenacious. She was not about to give up on any student. She always emanated positivity everywhere she went. Hearts were broken when we heard the news,” he said.
King was a Radford University graduate and taught at both Pulaski and Eastern Montgomery high schools after working at Backcountry Ski and Sport.
Holly attended Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Performing Arts, but her drive led her to leave a year early to pursue her studies at Radford University, where she deepened her connection with nature and finding peace in the great outdoors.
The outdoor classroom has been on the drawing table for a number of years and came about thanks to several donors and grants from the New River Valley Home Builders Association.
Eaton concluded in saying King often built relationships with the students that nobody else could reach.
“She had a way of lighting up a room like nobody else I’ve ever seen,” he said.
The marker at the new outdoor garden and classroom says: “Welcome to the Holly King outdoor classroom. It’s a beautiful place.”
The latter is something, Eaton said, King was famous for saying.
The octagon roofed structure stands 22 feet in diameter and almost 12 feet high and many of King’s students helped to design and build the project. Eaton said King would have loved the spot.
According to the Craig County Sheriff’s office, following Hurricane Helene, emergency services responded to Cumberland Gap Road in reference to a report of an injured female, the female reported that she was at her outbuilding. When emergency services arrived, they located an overturned outbuilding and King was located deceased inside her residence.
