Stephen James Scott

How to sum up 77 years in just one page? Family knows you one way, your friends another. Do I tell you the story of his illness? A warning against smoking? No, he wouldn't like that. I will tell you what my father loved. He loved Reds baseball, and the Guardians too. He loved OSU football, the Bengals, and the Browns. He grew to love watching the Columbus Crew with his grandson, Jordan, in his final year. He was married twice, divorced once, and widowed in 2015. He was the best father ever. He worked night shift but woke up in the middle of his night to drive me to school on cold winter mornings. He only spoke harshly to me twice in my life and believe me, I deserved it more often than that. He liked old movies and new ones too. He appreciated comedies and dramas. He had a great sense of humor. It was easy to make him laugh. He was finally able to follow his passion for painting and writing in his retirement. He did not enjoy his work as a lab technician, but he did make many friends and had many fond memories of their time together at Doctor’s North Hospital, Roche Biomedical, and Doctor's West Hospital. He always advised me to find a job that I loved. He attended Ohio University from 1964 to 1966, studying Political Science. This is where he met my mother and they both dropped out of school. They eloped to Mexico City, but he was soon drafted for the Vietnam War. He became an Army medic and thankfully, was stationed in Italy for his two year service commitment. This is where I was born. When he returned from the service, we settled in Columbus, Ohio.

My father was a prolific reader. He said when he was a child, he always wanted to live in a library or a museum. He certainly got his wish. My father had the greatest respect for books. You could never tell he had read them because the binding looked untouched. He had a very active mind, and it was hard to beat him in Trivial Pursuit. He enjoyed traveling and wished he had done more of it when he was younger. Our last trip was to New Orleans in 2023, which he enjoyed immensely. He was enormously interested in history, especially the Civil War. He also studied the religions of the world, the occult, our genealogy, and politics. He was a huge aficionado of music, especially folk, Celtic, and classic rock. He favorite concert of all time was Eric Clapton in 2007.

He studied Anthropology, along with Central and South American History at Ohio State University and graduated in 1971 with his bachelor's degree. He began a master’s degree program and was accepted for a doctoral degree in History but chose to support his second wife in her collegiate endeavors. They bought their first home in Clintonville where he set up a model train track in the basement, purportedly for me. He also had a large garden and nut trees. When he was younger, he enjoyed model ship building and chess. He always loved dogs and cats. He spoke fondly of his childhood dog, a boxer named Tammy. He cared for many cats throughout his adult life and made regular contributions to Cat Welfare, one of his favorite charities. He was a good athlete, playing baseball and running cross country at South High School, where he graduated in 1964. He was a great brother to his two younger sisters, Kathleen Ellen Moodispaw (William) and Jill Anne Collins (Charles). He was a devoted son to James Milton Scott and Betty Olive (Blake). He preferred to be alone, but always attended large family gatherings in Springfield, Ohio, teaching me the importance of honoring our strong family ties. He is survived by his two sisters and brothers-in-law, four nephews, Tom Stratton, Forrest Moodispaw, Joshua Collins, and Dustin Moodispaw, one niece, Jennifer (Collins) Moore, five great-nephews, three great-nieces, his daughter, Mercedes Scott Stepp, son-in-law Mark Stevens Stepp, and two grandsons, Jordan Anderson Ruiz and Lucas Emilio Ruiz, as well as three cats, his favorite grand-dog, Bella, and two grand-cats. He leaves a legacy of kindness, generosity, and sharp wittedness. He will be missed by all who knew him.

A visitation for Stephen will be held Saturday, July 27, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Schoedinger Northwest, 1740 Zollinger Road, Columbus, OH 43221. A funeral service will occur Sunday, July 28, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM, 1740 Zollinger Road, Columbus, OH 43221. A reception will occur Sunday, July 28, 2024 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, 1740 Zollinger Road, Columbus, OH 43221.