WATCH — Texas ISD Names Elementary School After 76-Year-Old Retired Custodian: 'They've Been Good to Me'

A retired school district custodian in Texas was nearly speechless when officials honored her years of dedication with an incredible surprise. Seventy-six-year-old Marilyn Hampton worked for the Aubrey Independent School District for 39 years, and during that time she went above and beyond, WFAA reported Friday. Hampton was known to buy and deliver school supplies, help students study, and also teach them to be kind, work hard, and persevere through challenges they faced. Although she retired in 2022, Hampton now cares for babies and toddlers at the Aubrey ISD Early Bird Learning Center. The school district is adding another campus that was to be called Elementary School Number 5. But school board officials came up with a way to change that and honor Hampton’s legacy of service to the community and its children. During their meeting Wednesday, Hampton was asked to roll out a small red carpet that bore the name Marilyn Hampton Elementary School. She could barely believe her eyes when she realized an entire school was going to be named after her. “Y’all are the best,” she told everyone at the meeting while they gave her a standing ovation. More photos showed Hampton with the red carpet and those who were there to honor her service: The retiree, who is the only one of her siblings to graduate from high school, previously thought she had not accomplished very much in life. But her kindness and heart for serving others proved that was not true. “I just thought, ‘You know, Marilyn? God put you where you are supposed to be.’ And I’m very happy with the way things turned out,” she said. “It’s just more than a school to me. It’s people and I love them. They’ve been good to me. And I can’t get over the attention.” Another photo showed the beloved and smiling retiree wearing a special T-shirt with the school’s name on it, the joy on her face unmistakable: Social media users shared their thoughts about Hampton and the surprise, one person writing, “Marilyn is getting the recognition she so deserves,” while another user wrote, “Congratulations!!!! Such an amazing soul!!!”