ROANOKE, Va. – A northwest Roanoke activist is being honored in her former neighborhood.
Kennedy Park on 19th Street NW has been renamed after Estelle McCadden.
McCadden is known for founding the Melrose Rugby Neighborhood Forum and the Virginia Statewide Neighborhood Conference.
She was also Roanoke’s Citizen of the Year in 2008.
On Friday, just a little over a year after her death, local and state leaders came together to reveal the newly renamed park.
“A champion and an icon for the Melrose Rugby neighborhood,” Mayor Sherman Lea said.
McCadden’s daughter, Beryl McCadden-Pritko says she’s pleased to see her mother’s hard work be recognized even after her death.
“One of the things that she always said was may the work that I’ve always done speak for me and it has,” McCadden-Pritko said.
The McCadden family and officials hope the renamed park will serve as a remind of what the late neighborhood activist stood for, creating safe and healthy neighborhoods.
“The pride that she had about her community,” McCadden-Pritko said. “And what the community and Melrose Rugby neighborhood stands for.”
“For us it means that her legacy is coming to fruition,” Mac McCadden, Estelle’s oldest son said. “She worked so hard to make sure people know that Northwest is here too.”
Roanoke Parks and Recreation say this summer, they will begin creating a master plan for McCadden Park.