Obituary of John Nicholas Scott

Loving husband, beloved father, grandfather, and great‑grandfather, and cherished brother, friend, educator, and naval officer, John Nicholas “Jack” Scott died Monday, January 19, 2009 at his home. He was 92 years old.

Born in Monessen, Pennsylvania, September 23, 1916, John was the eldest child of O.O. Scott and Bessie Worthington Scott. On December 15, 1944 he married Christine Elaine Fowler, daughter of Andrew Claren Fowler and Rossie Helms Fowler.

John is survived by his loving wife, Christine, of the home, daughter Deborah Scott Luck and husband, Sidney of Seagrove, N.C., grandson Jason Scott Luck of Charleston, SC, grandson Matthew James Luck and wife, Jennifer of Seagrove, NC, great‑grandchildren Madison Nicole Luck and Austin Brady Luck of Seagrove, NC, brother William Scott of Kansas City, MO, and sister Martha Ridgway of California, PA.

Funeral services to celebrate the life of Mr. Scott were held on Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 2:00 PM at McEwen Funeral Chapel with Rev. Robert Burr and Rev. Steve Joyce officiating.

John was a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served his country in the United States Navy from July 1942 to December 1945, graduating from the United States Naval Academy War College and serving as a communications officer on the USS Philadelphia, attaining the rank of lieutenant. Having taught at Benton Heights School prior to his military service, he resumed his role as an educator after World War II, teaching at Harding and East Mecklenburg High Schools and serving as principal of Prospect School before becoming a professor of Physics and Engineering at Wingate College. John retired from Wingate College and lived a rich and active life. His passions in life included tending to his garden, tinkering with his computers, serving his church in numerous ways, including Sunday School teacher, and caring for his family and friends.

John’s long and fruitful life was full of joy and grace and his light shone with a brilliance beyond description. His legacy embodies an inquiring mind, a welcoming kindness, an abiding loyalty and a loving peace. Those virtues he leaves to his family, his friends, and the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of young men and women he interacted with throughout his career.