Trees planted for every year of short life

PLEASANT GROVE — Sam Ives can't join in the next game of cops and robbers at Tank Park or ride his skateboard down the park's newly completed trails. But his friends don't want to forget the 11-year-old, who was fatally mauled by a black bear in June, so Saturday they dedicated a portion of the park to his memory.

"Sam was a good friend," said Jake Stoker, 11, who went to school with Ives. "We wanted to do something nice for him because he was always doing stuff for us."

Fourteen of Ives' closest friends, including Stoker, spent the somber months following their friend's death raising money to purchase 11 trees and two benches for the portion of the park now dubbed "Sam's Grove." Each tree represents a year of Ives' life.

The boys chatted about fun times with Ives as they hollowed out holes to plant the trees on Saturday morning. There were plenty of memories. Remember that time when he ate half a loaf of garlic bread by himself? Remember how he used to talk with a German accent? How his face turned red when he got flustered?

"He was my best friend," said Malcolm Campbell, 11.

"He was MY best friend," said Calvin Rawlins, 12.

Ives was the kind of person who made everyone feel important, said Zach Tolen, 11. He never insulted people or gossiped about his friends when they weren't there.

The Ives family didn't plan to speak during the emotional dedication ceremony, but after an official statement was read Sam's mother, Rebecca Ives, felt prompted to stand up.

"Thank you so much," she said. "Sam would have really appreciated this. I know he would."

It was difficult for her to come to the ceremony, she said, but she felt like Sam wanted her to be there, wearing his "lucky" hat, to thank the friends he loved so much.

Ives' cousin, Nicholas Banks, coordinated Saturday's tree-planting efforts.

Banks, 15, was away on a foreign exchange trip when a 370-pound bear dragged Ives from his family's tent, which was pitched in a primitive campground in American Fork Canyon. Banks missed the funeral, he said, so he took on the project to attain some level of closure.

The 11-year-old was always at Banks' side during family parties, raiding the candy bowl, surfing the Internet and making smoothies, he said.

"Sam was so kind and loving when he was alive," he said. "I hope this park can help people remember that spirit. I hope people can be more like Sam when they visit this park."