Jake Simpson was born to be a Scout.

“He’s been in Cub Scouts since he was born,” said his mother, Kelly. She was pregnant with him when his two older brothers were both in Cub Scouts.

In December, Simpson received Eagle Scout honors after he finished a cleanup project at a cemetery in Jackson Township.

Eagle Scouting also runs in the Simpson family. Simpson’s two older brothers and older cousin all earned their Eagle Scout ranks.

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His celebratory ceremony was last month.

During his time as a Boy Scout with Troop 190, Simpson earned 41 merit badges. What’s his favorite?

“Probably veterinarian meds, because I always wanted to be a veterinarian and now I want to be a conservation officer,” he said.

When deciding what to do for his Eagle Scout project, Simpson asked Jackson Township Trustee Sandra Higgins if there were any cemeteries that needed to be cleaned up.

There were actually three that needed attention. Simpson picked one off Three Story Hill Road.

“I felt bad for the families that go there and see people are having parties back there and throwing their trash out. I felt bad for the family, so I decided to do that one,” he said.

“Plus, it looked really nice after we were done, too.”

With the help of about 10 friends and family members, Simpson cleaned up a pile of trash that someone threw in the cemetery. His brother cut up a tree that was leaning over graves.

Simpson and his helpers also worked to right tombstones had been knocked over.

“There was one really big one that we had everybody help on, because it was really big and hard to get up,” he said.

They also added new fencing and gates to the cemetery, making it more secure.

Simpson, 16, plans to stay in Troop 190 until he’s 18, but he doesn’t plan to stop there.

“Whenever I grow up, I want to be the leader of this troop, and then whenever I’ll have kids, hopefully I’ll have some boys who can go into this group, too,” he said.

His parents, Kelly and Ben, are proud of their son.

“I think me and his dad, it brought tears to both of our eyes. Your daddy cried,” Kelly said of the Eagle Scout ceremony.

“I’m really proud of him.”