Memorial in the works for longtime Merced photographer. This is how you can help.

Marci Stenberg's legacy chronicling local events as a longtime Merced Sun-Star photographer will live on at Stephen Leonard Park.

Organizers are asking for the public's help funding a plaque for the memorial, placed adjacent to the splash pad for children at the park in Merced.

Stenberg worked with the newspaper from the late 1980s until her sudden death Dec. 20, 2012, at the age of 66.

She loved nature, Yosemite and children, making the splash pad a natural way to remember her, said Eric Stenberg, her son. She had three sons and seven grandchildren.

The fund-raising campaign launched June 29 with a goal of raising $3,000 for a permanent plaque.

The campaign is spearheaded by a committee of her colleagues, friends and relatives, including Victor A. Patton, Mike "Buck" Tharp, Sara Sandrik, Nathan Quevedo, Doane Yawger, Alex Ruiz, Jillian Ehret and Eric Stenberg.

Committee members said Stenberg was a local fixture who captured the community's history and hearts through her photographs.

The Merced City Council last year approved naming the community splash pad at Stephen Leonard Park in Stenberg's honor.

Along with raising funds for the plaque, plans for an unveiling ceremony and reception in Merced also are in the works.

"Your contribution will go toward the cost of the plaque, its installation and the reception," Patton said. "Remaining funds will go toward scholarships for graduating Merced-area high school students entering college, who are interested in photography or the visual arts."

Checks can be addressed and sent to Marci Stenberg Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 2901, Merced, CA 95344. Donations to the GoFundMe page can be made online at this link here.

This story was originally published July 3, 2018 at 3:48 PM.