South Point resident James A. Ward Jr. had a passion for the outdoors: one that he shared with all of Lawrence County.

Though he passed away in January, his memory and work will be remembered Monday night with an act that one imagines would have made him very proud.

A Sierra Club member and retired math teacher, Ward worked tirelessly to educate others on the value of our resources. He even began an Earth Day celebration in South Point that has continued for the past eight years.

At 7 p.m. on Monday, Boy Scout Troop 115 will meet at the South Point Boat Ramp to remember Ward, who spoke to them several times on environmental issues, and to plant an Ohio Buckeye Tree in his honor.

The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, but those plans had to big nixed due to nasty weather.

The tree planting will be a fitting tribute to Earth-conscious Ward, Troop 115 Scoutmaster Scott Kelly said, and a testament to the fact that when the environmentalist spoke to the scouts, the boys got the message.

"He felt like we were headed down a path of wasting our resources," Kelly said, "and that the recycling and preservation of what we had would be vital to eventually passing on a vital Earth to both our children and grandchildren."

Carson Hunt is a former Scoutmaster who often worked with Ward. The two had a chance to visit weeks before the passing of Ward who, even in his infirmity, attempted to plan this year's Earth Day event.

"I spoke to him at his home in early January of this year, and his cancer was very advanced at that point," Hunt said. "It was hard to understand him, but he was so adamant about his concerns for the Earth in general, and Southern Ohio in particular.

"He wasn't about to be stopped just because he was ill, in fact, it took death to stop him."

Kelly said that he and others have every intention of continuing on the South Point Earth Day celebration tradition; proof that even though James Ward Jr. may be gone, his work, and his tree, will live on.