Scott Doty

Scott Doty was a man who loved life to its fullest. He was an outgoing, smart man who also had a giving and compassionate spirit. He deeply cared for others and saw the good in everyone he met. Scott was a loving husband, father, grandfather and son who will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

It was October 6, 1956 when Raymond and Shirley (Greenwood) Doty of Grand Rapids, Michigan, rejoiced in the birth of their fourth child, a son whom they named Scott. This was a time of deepening racial issues in our country as Martin Luther King Jr. was starting his career as an activist of the American civil rights movement.

Scott spent his childhood in Grand Rapids where as the fourth of five children, he put up with his fair share of teasing, but he wasn’t afraid to give it right back. He was a busy child who always had a heart for others and would often stick up for the underdog. He was a mischievous daredevil who loved to pull countless pranks.

Scott was a very smart student who was interested in chemistry and was also on the chess team. He enjoyed spending time hunting and fishing and seemed to be a “natural”, seemingly inheriting his grandfather’s ability to catch trout when no one else could.

After high school, he went on to Grand Valley State College where he majored in chemistry. He worked his way through college at Grand Valley Honda where his strong work ethic and personality caught the eye of one of his coworkers, Jack Kohut. Jack then introduced Scott to his daughter Debbie, and although her expectations about him were somewhat different, she saw his beautiful eyes and compassionate heart and was smitten with him. Scott proposed to her on her high school graduation day and the two became husband and wife on August 20, 1977.

Their marriage was one that had playfulness about it when Scott would tease Debbie which would initially make her angry, but after he made the littlest comment, would turn her right around.

Scott and Debbie went on to have three girls who were the apple of their daddy’s eye. Living with four women was never dull and full of plenty of estrogen which Scott balanced out by teaching them to fish. Scott liked to think he ran the show, but his daughters had him wrapped around their fingers and in reality, usually got their way.

Scott was a bit of a “softie” as a parent, except where grades were concerned. A good education and excellent grades were important to him so that his girls could always support themselves, never being dependent on others for their well-being. One of his girls’ favorite memories is when they played Scrabble with their dad, even though he always managed to win.

Scott furthered his education by earning his Masters in engineering at Western Michigan University. During this time he worked at Hastings Manufacturing as a chemist and then in quality control for almost 16 years. Scott’s dedicated personality made it easy to love his work, but hard to leave his work at work, as he often took it even on vacation with him.

Scott vacationed with his family every summer in Bond Falls, located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where he enjoyed the walleye fishing at their rented cottage. After the first year of vacation there, Scott would always take additional family members with them to enjoy a time of relaxation and recreation.

Hunting and fishing were not the only hobbies that Scott enjoyed. He also loved reading, hunting for mushrooms and especially gardening. His passion for foliage even earned him the nickname “Father Harvest.” Scott also loved cheering on the maize and blue of the University of Michigan and even painted the basement with these beloved colors. When his team was playing, the women in the house knew they always needed to find something else to do in order to escape his animated cheering.

Scott had a quirky and goofy side to him that always brought much joy to his friends and family. He loved to make up heroic stories about his beloved dog, Buddy. He also enjoyed making up songs about not only Buddy, but also the nicknames he came up with for everyone he knew and loved. Scott made up for what he felt he lacked in physical stature by always having the biggest and best “toys” from garden tools to snow blowers. Scott also entertained those he knew with his self-proclaimed great but goofy sense of humor.

After working at Hastings Manufacturing, he took a job with Continental Teves as a quality manager which required he move his family to Morganton NC, where they lived for five years before getting transferred to Auburn Hills, MI.

Scott’s love for reading allowed him to research anything he wanted to do and then do it. If he wanted to finish a basement, he read about and then did it, and did it right. He was outgoing and often used this to stick up for someone he felt was being mistreated in some way. He was very intelligent but never used it in such a way that made others feel inferior or in a way that would flaunt his accomplishments.

Scott eventually decided to make an occupation change from the automotive industry when he took a job with Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where he and his wife Debbie have lived the past few years.

Scott Doty was a man who was dedicated to his word and to others. He balanced his sarcasm and intelligence with genuine love and concern for others. He lived his life with zest and laughter and will be greatly missed by hid family and friends.

Scott J. Doty, of Fond du Lac,Wisconsin and formerly of Grand Rapids, died on October 25, 2008. Scott’s family includes his wife of 31 years, Debbie; their daughters and son-in-law Amy (Julian) Franke, Amber Doty and Ashley Doty; grandson Mason Franke; parents Ray and Shirley Doty; mother-in-law and father-in-law Jack and Dee Kohut; brothers and sisters Ray (Mary) Doty, Debbie (Steve) Balderson, Bonnie (Jerry) Spencer, Patrick (Sue) Doty; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Bonnie Jean (John) Holm, Robyn (Mac) McKenna and many nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, October 30 at 11 a.m. at Community of Christ – Northview Branch, 4875 Palenque St. NE, Grand Rapids with Elders J.C. Millard and Ric Farmer officiating.

Relatives and friends may visit with his family at Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes – Alt & Shawmut – Grand Rapids, 2120 Lake Michigan Drive on Wednesday, October 29 from 6-8 p.m. and at the church on Thursday for a time following the service. Please visit Scott’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can share a favorite memory or make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.