Emma Jean Scott

Emma Jean was born on May 12, 1936, in Tatum, Texas to her parents, Elvie Hallmark Dunlap and Annie Pitts Dunlap. She began first grade in Tatum and later her family moved to Carthage where she excelled in many school activities, especially yearbook, newspaper, and student government. She did farm chores before and after school, and earned piano lessons by sewing and ironing clothes for a music teacher. She was active in Camp Fire and represented the high school at Girls State. She also served as a piano accompanist at Antioch Baptist Church.

Emma Jean graduated as valedictorian of Carthage High School with the Class of 1954. She completed Bachelor’s of Education with Honors from Texas State College for Women (now TWU) in Denton in three years, while working thirty hours per week. She was an Athenian. In 1968 she completed her master’s degree after three semesters of commuting to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, while working full time as she and newspaper editor husband Orville raised three young children.

She married the love of her life, Orville Lindsey Scott, on December 21, 1957. Their children, James Scott of Ft. Worth, TX, John Scott of Murphy, TX; and Elizabeth Steadman of Ft. Worth, TX were singing hymns with the grandchildren at Emma Jean’s bedside when she went to glory.

Emma Jean and Orville were active in mission work in Mexico, the Lower Rio Grande Valley, San Andres, Colombia, China, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and teaching at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Reuschlikon, Switzerland. Since moving to Van Zandt County, Emma Jean has helped direct the First Baptist Church of Canton Library, was program director for Women on Missions, taught the Grief Share meetings, taught ESL, was assistant teacher, former director, and current Food Chairman of the HARP Sunday School class; and she wrote heartfelt articles for the Watchman Prayer Ministry.

She was a classroom teacher for thirty-five years and taught in Carthage, Conroe, Lancaster, Thomasville, N.C., Columbia, MO., and at Richardson, Texas’ Stults Road Elementary. In 1970, she was the first graduate degree specialist in multilevel learning disability diagnostics and remedial methodologies to be hired by the Richardson Independent School District. She retired from public school teaching in 1994.

A celebration of life for Emma Jean will be held on Monday, August 9, 2021, at 10:00 AM at First Baptist Church in Canton, TX, Pastor Mike Roberson conducting. Interment will be at the Corinth Cemetery under direction of Eubank Funeral Home, Canton.

She was preceded in death by her parents and by her husband, Orville Scott.

In addition to her sons and daughter, she is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Jim & Linda Dunlap of Longview; son-in-law, Darrell Steadman and daughter-in-law Suzanne Scott, as well as five loving grandchildren, Travis and Katie Steadman of Little Elm, Rebekah Steadman of Fort Worth, Michael Steadman of Fort Worth, Rachel Scott of Sunnyvale, CA, and Will and Emily Cates of Olean, NY; great granddaughters Rylie and Savannah Steadman, and many loving nieces and nephews and cousins.

The family requests any memorial gifts be made to: The American Bible Society’s Bibles for China at 866-895-4448 or https://americanbible.org/ways-to-give