JUNEAU, Alaska — They’ve renamed the ferry terminal at Auke Bay in honor of Frank Palmer, a truck driver who died last year but who, before he went, made the world a better place.

At least that’s the way the official record of the Alaska Senate describes Palmer.

Here’s what it says:

Palmer was an icon who worked for nearly five decades at the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal. Palmer, who died last year at the age of 69, first began pulling trailers off the Alaska Marine Highway System’s ferries in 1962, the year service from Prince Rupert started.

Since then, Palmer drove trucks and met ferries for Lynden Incorporated, Orme Transfer, Douglas Trucking (of which he was also a co-owner), and Alaska Marine Trucking. No matter which company he was working for, Palmer’s reliable presence at the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal was a constant.

"He was well known as a man who could skillfully get large vehicles on and off of ferries with ease. Although most of them are completely unaware, the list of Alaskans whose lives were touched indirectly by Palmer as he helped move their goods on and off of ferries is long.

"Frank Palmer grew up in Auke Bay and for the entirety of his working life (47 years) he was a staple at the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal. Through his decades of work loading and unloading ferries, he was an integral part of the marine highway system that serves as the road that connects the communities of Southeast Alaska.

"It would be a fitting and appropriate tribute to a man so intertwined with the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal to rename it the Frank Palmer Ferry Terminal."

On Saturday past, the community of Juneau turned out en masse to witness the official renaming ceremony.

According to the local paper the Juneau Empire, here’s what Palmer’s former boss told the crowd. "This is a very special day for all of us here," Lynden Transport Manager Eric Badger said. "It is impossible to figure out the number of loads Frank Palmer hauled, the ferries he met and the miles he logged in his truck."

The dedication was possible because of Senate Bill 95, sponsored in the Alaska Legislature by Senator Dennis Egan and co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Beth Kerttula.