Troop finishes Eagle Scout project of Boy Scout who died before completion

A Boy Scout troop in Pennsylvania held a dedication ceremony Monday after finishing the Eagle Scout project of the scout who died before he could finish it.

Aiden Lutz, a 15-year-old from Butler, Pennsylvania, and member of Boy Scout Troop 6, died last fall after he was hit by a car shortly before he was set to complete his Eagle Scout project, according to a report.

The Eagle Scout project is one of the final steps scouts take on their trail to Eagle, and Lutz had planned to construct a Little Free Library outside the school where his mother works.

Little Free Library is dedicated "to building community, inspiring readers, and expanding book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Library book-exchange boxes," according to the nonprofit group's website.

Lutz planned to fill the library with his favorite works and give the community a place where they could be shared.

"Aiden was a big part of the troop. He was extremely well liked, had a lot of friends in the troop. His passing hit us pretty hard, and this is the best way we could think of to do a dedication back to him," Troop 6 Scoutmaster Jeff Orsborn said, according to the report. "The project for the scouts has been a good way, I think, in coping with things."

"His mother being a Northwest Elementary teacher and be able to see this each day will make her smile, knowing Aiden has had an impact moving forward on the lives of others," Butler Area School District Superintendent Brian White added.

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Lutz, a member of scouting's national honor society, the Order of the Arrow, was described by leaders as an energetic and helpful scout whom younger scouts admired, the report noted.

"All the youngest scouts looked up to him," Orsborn said. "Aiden had an impact on each and every one of them in different ways."