On a rainy morning last weekend, a dozen people gathered in Richfield to help honor the dead — and to help 17-year-old Therese Phan earn her Eagle Scout rank.
Phan, 17, assembled the volunteers who would help her become an Eagle Scout — the highest rank a youth can achieve in the Boy Scouts of America. Phan welcomed the crew to the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where they would be marking the 44 graves throughout the cemetery that were never given a gravestone.
"I think she's showing everyone, or making them aware, that these people walked the Earth and that we should honor them ... regardless if they have a gravestone or not," said Ann Anton, 73, a church volunteer.

"These are human beings who once lived and worked and played, and are deserving of a particular respect," said Peter Loving, 68, a church deacon.
The journey here wasn't easy. It took three years for Phan, of Richfield, to rise through the ranks in Troop 384, and her project involves months of preparation. It all started before girls could join the Boy Scouts.
Since she was young, Phan wanted to join the Scouts. She grew up watching her brothers become Eagle Scouts. As they camped, volunteered and learned life skills, Phan took notice of how excited they were.
"I thought, 'That's really cool. I want to do that, too,'" she said.
At that time, she couldn't. It was only three years ago that the Boy Scouts of America allowed girls to join, marking one of the organization's most significant changes since its founding in 1910. Phan volunteered to help her brothers become Eagle Scouts, despite what limits those rules put on her.