Bend teen sixth in family to attain Eagle Scout rank

Levi Schwarz received his Eagle Scout ranking Friday after spending much of his life in the Scout program. That’s really hard to do — and it’s rarer still to have five others in the immediate family who preceded him in attaining that honor.

“Something like four in 100 Scouts that join scouting get the Eagle Scout rank,” Schwarz said.

It was standing room only Friday evening at the Bend Parks and Rec headquarters for a chance to see Levi’s ceremony, but the honor was all his.

“This is a huge night for me, especially since all four of my older brothers are going to be here,” the Bend High senior said. “They’re all Eagle Scouts. My dad was an Eagle Scout. It’s a big family event.”

Levi’s dad, Doug, was the first in what he hoped would be a long line of Schwarz Eagle Scouts, ending in this generation with his youngest son. Levi’s new rank is a validation of that dream.

Levi’s grandmother, Marian Schwarz, said, “It makes me very proud that I know my son was that good a father and the type of person that encouraged his sons to do the same,”

The teen’s brother, Joe, said, “I was the last one to make it through while my dad was still alive, and Levi’s kind of that concluding factor of that overall Schwarz goal. So that’s what this night really means, in a special way, is that we’re carrying on my deceased father’s final wishes, basically. For us to make it through this program and become better men.”

The oldest Schwarz brother agrees his dad’s plan has finally come to fruition.

“That is kind of a mechanism which dad used to try to teach us how to be outstanding men in the modern world, so it’s kind of cool to see everyone come through that,” Benjamin Schwarz said.

The family has learned to celebrate occasions like this without Doug, even if his memory is far from faded.

“Every time the kids reach a different milestone in their life, they all go, ‘Oh, if Dad were here,'” Levi’s mother Janet said. “We know Dad’s here. We know he’s watching. We know he’s part of it.”

Fortunately for Levi, he still has four older brothers to guide him through young adulthood, with their own advice to share.

“There’s no doubt you can do anything you want with your career or your interests and your hobbies and passions,” brother Samuel Schwarz said.

Levi is busy carving his own path in many ways, as an honor student, member of the Lava Bears cross-country and lacrosse teams and also as a member of the school’s award-winning choir.

Among many others, Levi’s keeping one lesson he learned from the Scouts, and his life to this point, forever in his heart.

“One of the main things I’ve taken over the last 18 years is that there’s no bad experiences,” Levi said. “There’s only learning experiences.”

And so he goes to the next chapter, with his four Eagle Scout brothers and, of course, his mom, to help him keep learning.

Mrs. Schwarz said if Doug had been at the ceremony, he’d have cried before she did.