LONDONDERRY — Though his troop yielded 16 Eagle Scouts over the past decade, Scoutmaster Steve D'Esopo never pressured his boys to become advanced Scouts.

“When it comes down to it, I didn't care if they made Eagle Scout or not,” said D'Esopo, who's been involved in Boy Scout Troop 109 since 2001.

That's not to say he wasn't proud of his Scouts — all several hundred of them.

“Really, my goal was to keep things fun. We'd slide in those Scouting values when they weren't looking,” he said with a chuckle.

On Tuesday, D'Esopo, 60, will retire from his long-term position, though he stressed he's far from ready to step down from Scouting entirely.

A former National Boy Scout Council Scoutmaster of the Year, he'll remain on the Eagle Scout Board of Directors and plans to maintain an active presence in Troop 109 despite the fact that his only son, Dana, 21, left the troop nearly four years ago.

It was his close relationship with his only child that originally attracted D'Esopo to Scouting. In the late 1990s, Dana crossed over from Cub Scout to Boy Scout and D'Esopo, too, began working with Troop 109.

At the time, Troop 109, was the town's longest running Boy Scout troop, though membership had been dwindling.

By 2001, D'Esopo signed on as assistant Scoutmaster. The following year, when another Scoutmaster stepped down, D'Esopo stepped in to fill his shoes.

He thought it was temporary at first but soon found himself hooked on the Scouting experience.

“And the rest, as they say, is history,” said D'Esopo.

Over the years, the eager Scoutmaster influenced countless young men, sharing his love of cycling and community service with them and, most of all, making Scouting fun.

“He brought his own brand of fun to the troop,” Scout parent Mary Wing Soares said, noting that a favorite event was the yearly biking trip D'Esopo and his wife, Dorothy, took the children on, along with forays to Martha's Vineyard and New York City, as well as white-water rafting excursions, pow-wows and camping trips.

“If a boy just wanted a place to camp, fish, ski, bike, hike or partake in a myriad of other activities available under his support, Steve was there to have as much fun as the boys,” said Soares. “Yet he has taken the job of Scoutmaster seriously. He encouraged all the boys in the troop to become independent thinkers and saw many of them grow into young adults who stayed with the troop to mentor others.”

Fellow Scout mom Laurie Renke, whose son, Max, 19, is an Eagle Scout, said seeing D'Esopo step down will be somewhat bittersweet.

“An Eagle doesn't become an Eagle on their own,” said Renke. “Having a special Scoutmaster is instrumental in guiding them. Really, he's influenced all our lives.”

Still, Renke stressed that Scouting isn't about churning out Eagle Scouts, and she said D'Esopo truly kept that in focus for the troop.

“Steve understood that Scouting changes boys' lives whether they're in scouts until age 18 or for just a few years,” said Renke. “Not all boys will become Eagle Scouts, but each Scout will forever benefit from the things they learned in Scouting about themselves, about others and about the world we live in.”

For D'Esopo, his Scouting years are something he'll always cherish.

“One wonderful thing I got out of this whole experience was that I was able to spend those magical years between age 11 and 17 with my son. Where else would I want to be?” said D'Esopo. “Being there with him and my wife was just priceless. It's the way things should be.”

Troop 109 will hold a farewell celebration for D'Esopo on Tuesday, June 19, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Londonderry United Methodist Church. Former Scouts and Scout leaders who would like to honor him are encouraged to attend, though are asked to RSVP with Renke at Laurie@accessp.com or 537-0592.

aguilmet@newstote.com