BOISE -- A Idaho pioneer for human rights was posthumously awarded the Idaho Medal of Achievement Monday.
The medal - Idaho's highest civilian honor - was awarded to Marilyn Shuler by Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and former Gov. Phil Batt during a Martin Luther King Day Jr. ceremony at the Statehouse. Shuler died last year at 77 after 20 years as director of the Idaho Human Rights Commission.
Otter said the award was meant to express the state's gratitude for Shuler's decades of determination and empathy.
"When you thought of human rights, you thought of Marilyn Shuler," he said.
Batt echoed the governor's praise, saying that Shuler's legacy will live on.
"Her example has inspired hundreds of Idahoans, even in private life, to do a better job of treating with other people with respect," he said.
Shuler's family said the honor would have meant a lot to her. Col. Tom Shuler said he was still learning the breadth of his mother's impact on the Gem State.
"There are so many things that people come and tell me that I was never aware of, that I had no idea about: How much of an impact she had on people and issues, I had no idea," he said. "I knew she was a wonderful person and a wonderful mom I just didn't now the impact she had."
The medal itself is made of silver from Coeur d' Alene's Hecla Mining Company and weighs close to 20 ounces. Shuler was selected from a pool of 60 nominees.