Obituary - Jess Scott

Jess Brown Scott died Oct. 31, 2012 at the age of 64 in Elizabethtown, Ky. The son of Walter C. Scott and Delean Brown Scott, he was born May 1, 1948 in Albany, Ky. In 1949 he moved with his parents to live on his ancestral farm in Stith Valley, Meade County, Ky. He attended Meade County Schools, participated in 4-H programs, and was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Meade County High School. As a student at the University of Kentucky he met his future wife, Frances Byars Scott. Following the completion of his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, Jess earned 2 masters degrees in math and electrical engineering at the University of Michigan. Following his participation in AFROTC he served 21 years in the USAF including service as a Microwave Devices Project Engineer at the Avionics Lab at Wright Patterson AFB, as Plans and Programs Officer at the Foreign Technology Division at Wright Patterson AFB, the Advanced Strategy Missile System at Norton AFB and two tours of duty at Los Angeles AFB. During his last assignment his leadership on the Titan IVB program led to the capability to launch the Cassini spacecraft to Saturn. At Los Angeles AFB he served as Chief, Future Space Technology Office, Directorate of Developmental Planning, and Chief, Payload Integration, Launch Programs Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Materiel Command. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (Fourth Oak Leaf Cluster) and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1997 and moved with his family to Fairborn, Ohio. In 2002 he and his family moved to Elizabethtown, Ky. He was an active member of the Big Springs United Methodist Church, and was a leader in Boy Scout Troop 233. He is survived by his wife Frances of 42 years, their two sons Brian (Jennifer) Scott of San Diego, Calif. and Alan (Ashley) Scott of Lexington, Ky., daughter Carol Scott of San Francisco, Calif., grandsons Camden and Parker Scott of San Diego, Calif., two sisters Ann (Richard) Doman and Martha (Ernest) Clift, and an extended family of nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to science and engineering, Jess had many interests, including gardening and home canning at his family's farm in Meade County, applying his skills to maintain his family's cars, tractors, and houses, and creating and managing his family history website, www.StithValley.com. A lover of the outdoors, he enjoyed hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail, but his favorite place to be was on the family farm. Donations may be made to the Big Spring United Methodist Church.