John McGuire has been volunteering at Ala Wai Elementary School for about a decade.

Over the years, the retired teacher has helped in a myriad of ways, from pitching in with classroom instruction to refashioning bulletin boards. And last year, over the course of several weekends, he built a special concrete walkway to connect two buildings so that kids didn't have to tromp through the mud on their way to English Language Learners classrooms.

It took awhile for Ala Wai kids and teachers to figure out just the right way to thank McGuire.

But yesterday, "Mr. John" — as McGuire is known — got a fitting tribute.

In a ceremony, the school formally dedicated the pathway McGuire built, calling it "Mr. John's Way." They also erected a 2-foot-by-2-foot wooden sign with a depiction of McGuire pointing the way along the path.

"He does so much at this school," said Charlotte Unni, Ala Wai principal.

"Whenever he sees something that needs to be done, he just jumps in and does it."

McGuire, 78, started volunteering at Windward O'ahu schools after retiring from teaching in 1990.

"I decided I couldn't leave the children," McGuire said.

He started at Ala Wai about 1998, and goes to the school two to three days a week.

McGuire began teaching in 1951. He taught in Colorado, Minnesota and in the Islands, including at Kamehameha Schools.

For many years, he was a physical education teacher, but he also taught kindergarten and first grade.

McGuire said volunteering has helped him feel fulfilled and given him a new purpose.

The walkway is one of several beautification projects McGuire has completed at Ala Wai. Unni said the walkway has only gotten prettier over the last year, as foliage pops up around it.

She said the school had repeatedly asked for state money to put in a walkway at the spot because children and teachers had to sink their feet into mud whenever it rained. When McGuire learned that money for the project didn't come through, he told Unni he could do it himself.

He even declined an offer of help from custodians, saying he was able to do it alone, Unni said.

But for McGuire, his volunteering is nothing too spectacular — just something he enjoys.

He said anybody can pitch in to help a school.

"If they love children, and are wanting to help, that's a good place to do it," he said.