The announcement of my gradfather's passing, which introduced some of the details of his past that had previously been only inklings of half memories for me. Published in The Advocate (UGA publication) on Dec. 27, 2006.
Scott II, William Owen Nixon
William Owen Nixon Scott II passed away peacefully at home in Athens, Ga., on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006, with his beloved wife, Virginia, at his side.
He was a World War II veteran, a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and emeritus professor of educational psychology at the University of Georgia. Owen was a loving, gentle and kind husband and father. He was widely respected by his colleagues, students and acquaintances.
Owen was born in Colorado Springs, Colo., on April 22, 1917, to Frank Kernochan Scott and Antoinette Siegfried Scott. He was a descendent of Gen. John Scott, a prominent settler of Georgia during the early 1800s and a founder of Montgomery, Ala. His great-grandfather Alfred Vernon Scott graduated from Franklin College, later renamed the University of Georgia, in 1821. He was named for his grandfather William Owen Nixon Scott, the youngest son of Alfred Vernon Scott.
Owen grew up in Montgomery and graduated from Sidney Lanier High School. He later attended Marion Military Institute and Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University. After graduation from Auburn, he taught high school mathematics for five years. When America entered World War II after Pearl Harbor, he was inducted into the U.S. Army, serving from June 1942 to May 1946. He graduated from Quartermaster Officer Candidate School and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a supply officer with the 383rd Air Services Group in the United States and India. Upon release from active duty in 1946, he served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve until his retirement as a colonel.
After the war, Owen earned his master's degree and doctorate at George Peabody College, Nashville, Tenn. He took a position in 1951 on the faculty of the University of Georgia, where he taught until he retired with the rank of professor in 1983. While teaching at Coffee High School in Florence, Ala., he met the love of his life, Virginia Reeder, a home economics teacher at Coffee.
On June 25, 2006, Owen and Virginia celebrated 65 years of happy marriage. He was an avid golfer, lifelong Civil War historian and a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, Phi Delta Kappa, Kappa Delta Pi, University of Georgia Retired Faculty Association, the Retired Officers Association, Georgia Association of Educators and St. James Methodist Church.
Owen is survived by his wife; three children, Anne Merry and husband Ed of Newport News, Va., Karen "Scottie" Jarrett and husband Steve of Covington, Ga., and Owen Scott III and wife Mary Lou of Baton Rouge. He is also survived by a grandson, Scott Merry; and five granddaughters, Natalie Merry Pathwick and husband Andrew, Larisa Baste, Virginia, Lauren and Maureen Scott. Additional survivors include his sister-in-law, Flora Scott; two nieces, Joan Lowe and Cynthia Hutchinson; and two grandnephews, Stephen and David Hutchinson. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Alfred Scott.
A family graveside service will be held at Athens Memory Gardens, Athens, on Thursday, Dec. 28, at 11 a.m., with Rev. Ed Merry officiating. A memorial service for friends and acquaintances will be held at St. James United Methodist Church, Athens, on Thursday at 3 p.m., conducted by the Rev. Jerry Meredith. A reception will follow in the church fellowship hall. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be designated for the Eldercare Ministry at St. James United Methodist Church, 111 W. Lake Drive, Athens, GA 30606. Lord & Stephens Funeral Home East, Athens, is in charge of arrangements.
