The white oak tree that had been planted a year ago in Josh Kuphal’s memory stood by itself on the small hill just outside Albert Lea High School.

&uot;We looked at it and said, ‘That’s not Josh,’&uot; recalled his parents, Brian and Kathy Kuphal.

For the Kuphals, the area needed to be something that reflected their late son’s personality. As a young man who liked to hang out with the basketball team, it seemed only fitting that a tree in his memory should also be surrounded by &uot;friends.&uot;

So Kathy Kuphal, an avid gardener, approached ALHS Principal Al Root and asked if it would be OK if they planted a few more things to go with the tree.

&uot;He said he’d be happy if we’d do something,&uot; Kathy recalled.

From the start, they knew any plantings would have to be low maintenance. They decided to try for a native prairie feel.

&uot;I wanted it to have things that would be good in the spring, fall and winter &045; something the kids can enjoy,&uot; Kathy said. &uot;But it’s not a big decorative flower garden.&uot;

She consulted with Wayne Busch, the horticulture teacher at ALHS, in choosing plants for the garden. &uot;He was very helpful,&uot; she said. She also asked for advice from Joe Grossman of the Albert Lea Parks Department.

&uot;It’s a daunting task to plant in a public area when all I’ve ever done is for myself,&uot; Kathy added.

The couple found some rocks to enhance the garden in the Habben Industrial Park. Darv Habben donated them to the cause.

Getting the rocks to the garden was a challenge. The largest weighed 9,200 pounds. Allen’s Tow-N-Travel stepped in and donated the crane, truck and two men to get the rocks moved to their new home.

Several friends came out and helped to plant the garden. The original oak tree was donated by Joel and Teresa Matheson, Andrea and Mark Stotts and Jillian and Doug Peterson, and a number of them, as well as the Kuphals’ daughter, Laura, returned to help plant other things there. Two flowering crab trees were planted in the spring near the oak tree in memory of two of Josh’s female friends who had died. The family also put in evergreen shrubs, native grasses and flowers.

When they finished putting in the final plants on Labor Day weekend, butterflies were already visiting the garden, Kathy said.

The couple said some people told them they thought the garden might be a sad place. &uot;But that’s not the idea at all. All we wanted was something pretty around this tree,&uot; Kathy said.

She said the one thing left to do is to put up a plaque. The largest rock has a flat side on which the family hopes to install the bronze plaque. They’d like it to say: &uot;Judge not the day by the harvest reaped, but by the seeds sown&uot; as well as, &uot;In loving memory of Josh Kuphal.&uot;

&uot;Isn’t that what education is all about?&uot; Kathy asked of the inspiration.

Kathy said she’d been looking for some time for an appropriate message for the plaque. She was coming back to the office from lunch one day when she heard the quote on the radio. &uot;I thought, ‘I was meant to hear this,’&uot; she said.

Josh Kuphal was born with spina bifida and spent his life in a wheelchair.

&uot;He was always cheerful,&uot; his mother said.

He graduated from Albert Lea High School in 2002.

Four days after graduation, he underwent surgery and suffered a stroke. He died two months later.

&uot;He loved school,&uot; his father said of the decision to plant the tree at the high school. &uot;He served as manager of the basketball team and loved hanging out with the team members. It was one of his highlights of school.&uot;

Josh was a big Vikings and Twins fan and loved to hunt and fish.

&uot;He didn’t have good balance or hand-eye coordination, but he was a dead-eye with a gun,&uot; Kathy said.

Each year, Brian Kuphal took Josh hunting and fishing for a week. They always took part in Youth Waterfowl Day, and Josh always got his limit, his dad said.

&uot;It wasn’t easy to carry the heavy wheelchair to the dock or load it in a boat,&uot; Kathy said. But it was a labor of love for Brian.

It’s gratifying for the family to know how much people thought of their son. The basketball team now calls its inspirational award the Josh Kuphal Award and city employees have a Josh Kuphal Scholarship.

(Contact Geri McShane at lifestyles@albertleatribune.com, or call 379-3436.)