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Fair Boy Scout memorializes friend with garden
Joseph Tutaj was on a school marching band trip to Disneyland when he caught a virulent case of strep. He collapsed on the Santa Monica Pier and died 24 hours later. The 15-year-old was a sophomore at Seaford High School.
Robert Sirota, a 17-year-old senior at Seaford High School, took it upon himself to make a 10-foot diameter garden in front of the school at 1575 Seaman’s Neck Road, between the music wing and the main building, in memory of Tutaj, his friend since the first grade. Tutaj died on Feb. 21, 2013.
For making this garden to honor Tutaj, Sirota, a Boy Scout with Troop 581, received an official citation from Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray on Oct. 8.
Eileen Tutaj, who is Joseph’s mother, is very impressed with how the garden turned out. “It is beautiful,” she said. “They did a terrific job on it.”
Sirota and Tutaj met when they entered the Cub Scouts in the first grade and had been best friends ever since. “We became friends quick,” Sirota said.
Just like for Sirota, the Boy Scouts were influential and very rewarding for Tutaj. “They were a big part of his life,” Eileen Tutaj said, adding that he did local community service work including cleaning area parks and near the movie theater.
The best memory that Sirota has of his late friend is when they had a costume contest during a summer camping trip and Tutaj was dressed up as the Dark Knight from “Monty Python.”
“Joe was my best friend,” Sirota said, “and I thought the garden would be the best thing for people to remember him by.”
The garden was made in June and was not dedicated until September because there was a wait for the memorial stone to be engraved, according to Tutaj’s mother. It was all worth it in the end, she said, because of what is included in the memorial.
The garden includes a memorial stone and two other items that Tutaj loved. “One is the Boy Scout symbol and the other is a quote from his favorite band,” Sirota said. According to Sirota, Tutaj’s favorite band was the Beatles and there is fittingly a quote from the song “Let it Be” at the memorial. It says: “Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.”
There are many people that Sirota credits with helping him with the garden along the way, including his parents, friends, and fellow scouts from the troop.
Sirota joined the Cub Scouts in the first grade, which led to him becoming a Boy Scout when he was eligible in the fifth grade. He very much enjoyed the camping trips that he went on with his friends.
Tutaj and Sirota were very close and spent a lot of time together. Their involvement in the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts allowed them to bond on various trips on Long Island and as far away as New England.
“They went camping at Sands Point at a camp site out east,” Eileen Tutaj said. “They went to a Boy Scout camp near Wading River, to Camp Yawgoog in Rhode Island during the summers and they went white-water rafting in Alpine, New Jersey.” These experiences prove how close these classmates and friends were and how meaningful Sirota’s garden is and will continue to be.
