Robert D. Edgren High School sophomore Christian Weldon turns over dirt Monday in a symbolic gesture where a red maple tree was recently planted in memory of Tony Ruffin, a former counselor and track coach at Edgren. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — Tony Ruffin made a lasting impression on many people.

So when Stephanie Tanner learned that the educator died over the summer, the high school junior recalled his compassion and took on a school project to remember him.

The idea to plant a tree in Ruffin’s name grew into a memorial ceremony held Monday at Robert D. Edgren High School.

"He just said if I ever needed help to just yell and someone would be there," said Tanner, recalling when she first met Ruffin in a hallway as a junior high student.

And many were at Monday’s ceremony for Ruffin. Students and teachers packed the bleachers in the middle school gym to share memories of a man who loved kids, family, God, track and field, beef frankfurters and the electric piano.

"I know he’d be smiling from ear to ear," said Ruffin’s oldest son, Tony, a civilian contractor at Naval Air Facility Misawa. "He really loved the kids."

Ruffin, 54, died in August of cancer. He was Edgren’s counselor from 2002 to 2006. At the time of his death, he was a counselor at Stearley Heights Elementary School on Okinawa, where his wife, Sandra, is a school counselor for Camp Foster.

A former Marine, Ruffin had a passion for track and field and was key in bringing the sport to Edgren, those who knew him said.

He formed a school track club, the Misawa Flyers. Membership grew and the club was sanctioned in 2006 as an official team, with Ruffin at the helm.

He took students "who thought they could do nothing well and established a phenomenal track team," said Rhonda Jackson, a speech pathologist who’s been at Edgren for 13 years.

At the ceremony, she shared stories of Ruffin and his musical talents: "He would go into classes with his electric piano. He was the singing counselor."

Former Edgren principal Michael Johnson wrote a tribute to Ruffin, fondly remembering his counselor’s penchant for beef frankfurters and his sense of humor.

Spanish teacher Amy Sweeney, an educator at Edgren for 13 years, said Ruffin "was a great advocate for students. He changed lives."

Ruffin is survived by his wife, five children and five grandchildren.

A red maple tree, courtesy of the base nursery, was planted last week next to Edgren’s track in Ruffin’s memory.