LITTLE BOSTON — As the wooden totem pole carved by her husband was raised at the Port Gamble S’Klallam Early Childhood Center Tuesday, June Jones wiped tears from her eyes.

She said the emotions are full of joy and seeing the pole raised in her honor is “a little overwhelming.”

“I don’t know what to say. It’s beyond words,” she said.

A group of men hoisted the pole up and attached it to the exterior wall of a building that overlooks the center’s playground. Jones worked as education manager for the early childhood center that she helped get off the ground about 25 years ago.

She retired from her post last year.

Her husband Jake carved the pole in her honor using tools like knives and a chainsaw. The pole is topped with the likeness of an eagle’s head, a vital symbol to the tribe, he said.

The eagle’s talons, feathers, and likeness are used in ceremonies and on regalia. The bird symbolizes peace, he said. It took Jake about a year to carve the pole. The project was postponed due to a bout with pneumonia.

The pole also has a woman with a child carved into it, that lady he said represents all women of the tribe. The “wings” at the top of the honoring pole have the symbol for the tribe and Early Childhood Center and two blocks with “T” on one and “J” on the other. Both refer to Jones who is known as June or Tiny.

A lunch at the tribal center followed the pole raising ceremony.