Dr. Jane Goodall, a primate researcher and humanitarian whose up-close work with chimpanzees made her an international icon, left behind many friends and associates in Southern California when she passed away Wednesday morning.

In fact, she was scheduled to attend a tree-planting ceremony in Pasadena Wednesday when word of her death at 91 began spreading online.

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“When I was driving over here, I got word that she had passed away,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, an invitee at the event. “I can’t think of a more fitting way to remember her today than to plant this tree.”

The ceremony, attended by students, faculty, teachers and others, happened on the EF Academy campus. Its stated goal was to comme

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