CARRIE MILLER PHOTO | Southold Boy Scouts planted a cherry blossom tree in honor of member Ronan Guyer, who died of a heart attack last year.
About 20 members of Southold’s Boy Scouts Troop 6 gathered at Southold High School Saturday morning to honor Ronan Guyer, their “brother in scouting,” who died suddenly of a heart attack last year.
Ronan died one year ago Thursday after slipping on a patch of mud and hitting his chest on the ground, his family said at the time. The impact was believed to have caused cardiac arrest while doing a practice run for the state cross country championships upstate. His sudden death sent shockwaves through his close-knit class, and the scout troop.
To honor his fellow troop member, Logan Pfister, 17, who had been working on his Eagle Scout project, decided he wanted to do something special.
Several years ago Mr. Pfister’s older brother, Ian, had led a beautification project for his Eagle Scout project – centered around the school’s flag pole for his Eagle Scout project.
Mr. Pfister wanted to take that project to the next level, adding landscaping and a bench to accompany the brickwork done by his brother.
The landscaping work now includes a 5-foot cherry blossom tree — which troop members helped plant Saturday morning with the help from members of the Southold Town Tree Committee, which donated the tree.
“Ronan was in our troop, so I wanted to do something to remember him,” Mr. Pfister said.
“His mother wanted to build a garden at their house, and she asked the kids which plants they wanted in it,” he said. “Ronan said a white cherry blossom tree, and that’s why we picked it.”
Accompanying the tree will soon be a plaque that reads, ”In memory of Ronan Guyer, our brother in scouting – Troop 6,” Mr. Pfister said.
Dave Cichanowicz, a member of the town tree committee, and president of Creative Environmental Design of Peconic, which is also helping the troop complete the landscaping work said, “they came to us, and we were happy to help.”
The plaque is expected to be installed in the coming weeks.
