He first stepped into our 4th grade at the Consolidated School, lean and lanky. For some of us we may have thought, what can we show this guy? It seems there’s an unwritten code to test new additions to the class, to see what kind of “stuff” they’re made of. It wasn’t what we call “bullying” today, but more observing, checking things out. Are they smart, athletic, how will they measure up? It didn’t take long before Scott’s nature and intelligence revealed his unique character. He quickly became a team player and a game changer to the class. Affable and inquisitive, he wanted to know how things worked and was quick to share what he knew. I became a fast friend and admirer.
Scott joined Boy Scouts and we did many projects together, rode bikes everywhere, hiked in the woods, collected insects for biology. As time passed there were the inside games on hot sultry or rainy days. All things involving strategy, planning and outsmarting your opponent were favored. Scott liked to think and in doing so he would inspire you to think deeper about whatever you were working on. When you spent personal time with Scott he was engaging, focused and listening. As we grew into young adults and Scott began his bicycle business, it was his character and very nature that helped make him a successful entrepreneur.
A few years ago I stopped by Scott’s cycle shop before the busy season and he gave me the grand tour. The smells, music and atmosphere were most engaging. It was like touring a historical, working museum. The rows of different bikes, the “office” where the girls studied after high school — all made me want to blend in and observe this incredible working mechanism.
Ten years ago our 8th grade class celebrated its 50th year reunion. Scott had begun treatment for the disease that had invaded his body. He attended and his focus was not on himself but on the event and celebration of the many friends he had made. For all who could attend it was a defining moment. Seize life, seize the moment and enjoy what the good Lord has given us… life itself.
Scott spent the final ten years of his life focusing not on the gain of material things but affirming the very qualities he always possessed, establishing and building relationships, first with family and then with many others who got to know him. Though he will be very much missed, his ideals of considering others and promoting others’ interests can live on in us – the community he leaves behind.
Alan Freeman