Former and current members of Evanston’s city council dedicated the Evanston Civic Center to former mayor Lorraine Morton on Monday.

After introductions and anecdotes by former mayor Jay Lytle and Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, Morton gave an acceptance speech, thanking the city council and her other supporters.

“There’s so many good memories I carry with me about how supportive the community has been,” she said.

Prior to unveiling a new sign outside the civic center building, 2100 Ridge Ave., Morton gave some last advice to her granddaughters and to the community as a whole.

“(Live) a life of service,” she said. “That’s the only life that’s a life worth while.”

About 80 residents attended the ceremony, many of whom had personal ties to the former mayor. Michele Lacy, who is Morton’s sorority sister from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., said she admired the former mayor’s impact on the community, as well as the personal successes she has achieved.

“As a black woman, I’m very proud that the civic center, the focal point of the city, is being named for her,” Lacy said.

– ALI ELKIN