07/25/2024
Larry Raymond Scott, 69, passed away peacefully, on Friday, June 28th, 2024.
Throughout the life of Larry Scott, he crossed paths and impacted the lives of many people. He was always quick to say, “don’t believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see, and you will get by just fine in life.” Please realize that words cannot properly represent most of the stories, memories, and experiences that he shaped; you had to be there to fully experience the moment. Hopefully, you can take a moment to personally remember an intimate experience you shared with him: good, bad, ugly; keep it to yourself, or share it with someone else; although, that would probably depend on how audience-appropriate the story is.
Larry Scott was born on the 4th of July 1954. He grew up in West Pittsfield, in a house on Sibley Pond. As a child, he began learning the skills and gaining the tough mental and physical strength that would later come to shape him as an adult. His love and appreciation for the outdoors and open (or frozen) water was fostered at this time, along with his work ethic. He would hunt and trap large and small game for the meat and for the furs and pelts. He would fish, swim, and recreate on Sibley Pond (technically, a Lake). Beginning at the age of eight, he would ride his bike down a busy route highway, to work on a farm, in nearby Canaan, picking vegetables for eight to ten hours a day. As a teen, he would spend much of the summer months in Athens, working with and learning from his Grandfather Ray. He would tell of removing rocks (Maine sized rocks) from fields, occasionally using just a pinch of dynamite. Also, he would tell of removing trees to sell the logs or burn for heat, and removing the stumps, occasionally, again, using just a pinch of dynamite. Aggressive, and successful. This is how he lived. He worked hard and played hard. He became an avid alpine skier, with his secret to success being his ability to tuck the whole way and see you at the bottom. His school years were split between Pittsfield and Skowhegan. Upon graduation from High School, Larry joined the Marines. He honorably served his country for nearly five years (1971-1975), where he saw many parts of America and the World, while he gained life skills and was technically trained as a mechanic. After exiting the military, he returned home to Pittsfield, where he met the woman of his dreams, Marjorie Jones. They married on a hot July day in 1977, and he was welcomed with open arms into the Jones family. Meanwhile, he began his nearly 40-year career working for Cianbro. He began as a pipe layer, but soon transferred to the mechanic shop as positions became available. He was later the manager of the mechanic shop in Pittsfield, before finishing his career as the Lift Superintendent where he was tasked with coordinating the cranes to the different job sites along America’s East Coast.
No matter what he did, or where he went, his heart and passion, aside from his family, was with the Maine outdoors. He was a local expert on any body of water between Athens (where their family has lived since 1988) and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. More trips were made to that area than can be counted, and the same can be said for the friends and family that went along. He would even study the hard copy DeLorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer topographic maps, to get a better idea of where the best fishing hole might be.
Larry had extraordinary hands. Those hands did extraordinary things. They were very large, and very strong. They could crush you in a handshake, or make you feel safe when they held you. They were love at first touch for the love of his life. Those hands built the family homesteads. They fixed anything. They operated anything (he was certified in numerous lifting and construction equipment). They flew planes (he had his pilot license and owned planes). They played sports. They held his children and grandchildren. They cheered during sporting events. They cooked his famous weekend morning breakfasts, and overflowing pots full of chop suey for dinners (because “it’s always better to have too much than not enough”). They caught fish. They shot guns. They rarely wore gloves (for work or in the Winter). Essentially, the one thing his hands were terrible at was dialing the phone (buttons were too small), which he was perfectly okay with. And let’s not get started on his feet: the ones that were barefoot as soon as the snow left the ground to when the snow flew and could essentially walk over broken glass without a grimace; his “Maine Feet.”
Larry had an ability to put mind over matter. He would regularly use the phrases “attitude is everything,” and “we’ll get through it.” He also led by example. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2019. The mental strength and courage he showed during the process was heroic, and nothing short of unbelievable. Once again, words fail to properly represent; you had to be a witness. In the end, he went out on his terms: in his own house with a cool summer breeze blowing on him through the window. We will see him again, though. When we do, he’ll be wearing a baseball cap with a small inventory of fly-fishing flies stuck to the temple and giving a large thumbs up.
Larry will be missed. He leaves behind Marjorie Jones Scott, his wife of nearly 47 years; their children: Kate Cooley (Scott)(Lillian, Hoyt), Brady Scott and wife Angie (Lane, Annie, Maren), Maggie Catanese (Scott) and husband Adam (Piper, Archer); siblings: Emily Scott (Jim Love), Mike Scott, brother-in-law Kevin MacDonald; in-laws: Nancy Fisk, Scott Jones (Linda), Cilla Jones (Jim), Mark Jones (Debbie), Betsy Wood (Richard); many nieces, nephews, cousins, and the best friends anyone could have. He was predeceased by his mother and father (Norma and Brady Scott), mother and father-in-law (Barbara and Sumner Jones); sister Wendy MacDonald, sister-in-law Cindy Hinckley, and sister-in-law Marie Scott.
Our gratitude to everyone at Togus V.A.; doctors, nurses, technicians, and volunteers for five years of treatment and care, and the equipment necessary to keep Larry comfortable, and at home. Also, gratitude for the loving care received while in hospice.
A Visitation is scheduled for Friday, August 16th, 2024, from 5pm to 7pm, at Smart and Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Avenue, Skowhegan, Maine, 04976.
A Graveside Service is scheduled for Sunday, August 18th, 2024, at 1pm, at the Mount Rest Cemetery in Athens, Maine, 04912; with a reception following at the Sites Farm, 98 Joaquin Road, Athens, Maine, 04912
Donations in his honor can be made to Vet 2 Vet Maine (Vet2VetMaine.org)
Larry was born on July 4th, 1954 and passed away on June 28th, 2024 at the age of 69
