George Maywood Scott of Spencer, West Virginia, retired Circuit Judge and Supreme Court Justice, died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday, November 10, 2015, after a full and productive life spent for his family, his community and his state and after a long bout with Parkinson's disease.
Born at Reedy WV, August 5, 1929, to Basil Edward and Elva Snodgrass Scott, George was preceded in death by his parents; his beloved wife of many years, Glenna Darlene Moss Scott; his only child, Phillip Blair Scott; his brother, Charles Scott and his sister, Patsy Markwood Decker.
George is survived by his grandson, Samuel Christian Scott; his daughter-in-law, Susan Scott; his sister, Mina Jo Varan; his brother, Basil Edward Scott, Jr., and many nieces and nephews.
A lifelong resident of Roane County, George attended one-room elementary schools and graduated from Walton High School in 1945. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1946 to 1949 (it became the U.S. Air Force in 1947), attaining the rank of sergeant.
He attended West Virginia University on the G.I. Bill, receiving his AB degree and named to Phi Beta Kappa in 1952, and his law degree in 1954, with honors, as editor of the West Virginia Law Review. After law school, George was law clerk to United States District Court Judge Ben Moore for one year. Thereafter, George was the law partner of William S. Ryan in the Spencer firm of Ryan & Scott.
He was Roane County Prosecuting Attorney from 1956 to 1964. George held various offices in the West Virginia State Bar, including President-elect in 1972, when he was appointed Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit. He was elected Judge three times before retiring in 1987. He served as President of the West Virginia Judicial Association.
George was appointed as a Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals by Governor Underwood November 4, 1999, and served until December 31, 2000, after which he resumed his practice of law in Spencer and was of counsel to the Charleston law firm of Carey, Scott and Douglas.
George served as president of the Roane County Chamber of Commerce and the Spencer Rotary Club, as judge advocate of Roane County Post 21 of the American Legion, and as a director of The Traders Bank. He was one of the founders of the Roane County Country Club. As an attorney, he argued two major cases before the United States Supreme Court. He was one of the founders of Roane General Hospital and served as an officer and board member of that facility for many years.
George was the current chairman of the Roane General Hospital Foundation, Inc., at the time of his death. He was the prime moving force in the funding and construction of the present Roane County Courthouse. He was instrumental in bringing much of the commercial and industrial development that Roane County has managed to attract over the years. George has touched many lives in many positive ways. In 2014, George was named a Distinguished West Virginian by Governor Tomblin. If you knew George well, you had no better or more loyal or wise friend.
George's family deeply appreciates, as George did, the devoted care he received from Sandy Bush and his other excellent caregivers and the staff of Roane General Hospital during his long last months.
Services will be held at 1:00 p.m., on Friday, November 13, at John H. Taylor Funeral Home, Spencer. Burial will follow in the Snodgrass Cemetery, Gandeeville WV. Friends may call from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Thursday, November 12.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Roane County College Scholarship Foundation, Inc., for the Phillip Blair Scott Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 609, Spencer, WV 25276.
Condolences may be expressed online at taylorfuneralhomeinc.com
|
