NATCHEZ — Boy Scouts in Natchez and beyond have lost what many are calling a legend with last weekend’s death of Freddie A. Voss of Natchez.

Voss, 80, died Saturday at Riverland Medical Center in Ferriday.

A retired Natchez businessman, Voss was a charter member in 1946 of the Boy Scout Troop 158, with which he was affiliated for the remainder of his life.

“Mr. Freddie was not only a fellow scoutmaster, he was a mentor and a leader of not only the boys, but the other adults that were involved in scouting, too,” said Eddie Ray, a scoutmaster with Boy Scout Troop 168. “I couldn’t even hazard a guess at the number of boys who became Eagle Scouts under his guidance, and that includes other troops in Natchez and elsewhere in Mississippi.”

In fact, Voss himself was Troop 158’s first Eagle Scout. Since that time, 93 others from that troop have become Eagle Scouts, said a spokesperson for the Andrew Jackson Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Tony Haines, executive director of that group, said Voss’s influence on scouting is difficult to put into words.

“He is going to be missed greatly by thousands of people in Mississippi,” Haines said. “He is the quintessential scoutmaster. He is the scoutmaster of all scoutmasters. We are going to miss him a lot.”

Haines said Voss would have celebrated the 65th anniversary of becoming an Eagle Scout next year. He said Voss early on recognized scouting was a way to guide boys to be better men.

“Many people see scouting as this big organization that goes outdoors and goes camping. And we do that, but Freddie knew we are not just a camping club. He realized he could change the direction of a boy’s life by having him in his Boy Scout Troop,” Haines said. “He could make him be more than he was, a better person than he was. Freddie knew scouting is more about the transformation of boys than camping.”

Ray said it was Voss’ fatherly guidance that helped many Natchez boys “stay out of trouble.”

“If it came to scouting, Mr. Freddie knew it,” Ray said. “Many a boy could have strayed, but because Freddie guided him and had the fatherly type attitude in how he presented himself, he could get a boy to stay in scouting and stay out of trouble.

“When I go to his service, I won’t think of it as a funeral. I will think of it as a celebration of his life.”

Voss was a Cub Scout with Pack 158 and in 1946 was a charter member of Boy Scout Troop 158, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. He earned his Eagle Scout ranking in 1950.

In summer of 1971, Voss learned Troop 158 was about to lose its charter, so he volunteered to be a scoutmaster. Voss still served in that capacity until his death.

Under his leadership, Troop 158 was one of the most active troops in the Andrew Jackson Council.

Voss said in an interview in 2008 with The Natchez Democrat that his wife of 53 years, Pat Clements Voss, was a wonderful woman who stood by and supported him throughout his scouting life.

In addition to his wife, Voss is survived by two children: son Van, an Eagle Scout, and daughter, Lori Voss Olinde.

Voss was a member of the Knights of Columbus for more than 50 years, which sponsors Troop 158.

Ricky Warren, who is scoutmaster of Troop 168, said he tried to model himself after Voss.

“If there was ever an unsung hero, it was Freddie. He was the very first to show up. He never complained. He just loved doing volunteer work and helping,” Warren said.

He said Voss’ death was unexpected.

“It was very sudden. In fact, I had supper with him Wednesday. He was in the Knights of Columbus, which has a spaghetti dinner every year, and he helped roll out meatballs on Thursday,” Warren said. “In fact, I saw him at the Cathedral football game on Friday night. He was the same ole Freddie.”

Sherra Arnold’s son, Nicholas, and Voss’ grandson, Nolan Voss, began in scouting together in the first grade. Last February, Voss presided over the service in which Arnold’s son and his grandson were presented as Eagle Scouts.

“Five boys (from her son’s Cub Scout Pack) transitioned into Troop 158 in when they reached the fifth grade, “ Arnold said. “Since I had been their leader for a while, they wanted me to go in with them, since they were going to be joining schools who were all the way up to seniors in high school. They called them the Fearless Five.

“Mr. Freddie dropped by here Thursday of this past week to drop something off and one of the things he told me was the other three made it. They became Eagle Scouts, too.”

Laird Funeral Home in Natchez is in charge of arrangements.