Larry William Scott

REV. LARRY WILLIAM SCOTT

Grateful for a life well-lived, friends of Larry are invited to a community gathering at Broad View United on Monday, August 25th at 2 pm. Those unable to attend in person can go to the livestream at ~ Broad View United. Larry died this past weekend as a result of a cardio event.

Larry was many things and engaged with a diversity of people. He was an intelligent, articulate, witty friend, a dedicated worker in many community organizations. He was an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada, ministering at Cordova Bay United Church and James Bay United Church in Victoria, as well as churches in Banff, Kitimat, Saskatoon, Dundurn-Hanley and Ogema, Sk. He served these congregations and the broader church with good humour and an astute understanding of human behaviour. He was always interested in how people build a sense of hope. He was known to walk with others through difficult experiences, showing unconditional love to some who might otherwise be overlooked.

Larry was raised on a mixed farm near Maxville, Glengarry, Ontario, son of Orvel and Eva (Cumming), and younger brother to Mervin and Ronald (all deceased). They lived in a log house built in 1813. The principal income was from shipping cream to a cheese factory, supplemented by cutting pulpwood, making maple syrup and selling berries. A fire destroying the farm machinery shed in 1965 followed by a tornado destroying the main barn the next year, leading to the family to relocate in Cornwall and then Brampton. A practical approach to fixing things and gardening was part of his farm background.

Larry excelled in his studies at Trinity College of the University of Toronto (BA Political Economy Hon – also debating) and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv).

Many met Larry through his bagpipes and interest in all things Scottish (he played at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo of 1970). He volunteered with the Highland Games committee, the Saltaire society, and Craigdarroch Castle. He produced a Scottish newsletter and was author of “The Ducking House.” Larry’s interests included painting, rose gardening, reading, languages, hiking and keeping parrots (especially “Radar”).

Larry inspired us in how he responded to a diagnosis of Wegener’s (GWP), a rare disease which usually is fatal within 2 years. After that diagnosis, Larry led an active and meaningful life for another 22 years!

As a youth, he had several international pen pals and as an adult he traveled extensively in Scotland, Eastern and Western Europe (this June, he made his final visit there), and Turkey, Israel/Palestine, Cuba, Australia, Costa Rica. Friendships with those both near and far had enriched his life greatly over the years. We give thanks for Larry’s thoughtfulness, courage, humour and loyal friendship.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: provided by Larry.

Born June 9, 1951 in Cornwall, Ontario but grew up on farm near Maxville, Glengarry.

Family: Father - Orvel Scott, died May 1972. Mother – Eva (Cumming) Scott, died December 2, 2003. Two older brothers, Mervin (1942) and Ronald (1942). I was raised on mixed farm, near Maxville, Ontario. We lived in a small log house built in 1813. The logs were covered over with clapboard, as was common in that area. The principal farm income was from shipping cream to a family cheese factory in nearby Casselman. My father and brothers also cut pulpwood in the bush, in winter. We made and sold maple syrup and also sold strawberries and raspberries. A fire destroyed the farm machinery shed with contents, in the spring of 1965. A tornado destroyed the main barn in the following year. Because our farm was too small to start again, my father took a government sponsored retraining program in Cornwall, to become a metal lathe operator. After he completed this training, I and my parents re-located to Brampton, Ontario in October, 1967 where Ron was already living and working. My father worked in a factory and

my mother rented to one or two boarders and also did baby sitting. All five of the family lived together, first in a rented house on Mill St. North, then in a purchased house at 5 Church St. E. My father died at home of a heart attack in his sleep, in the spring of 1972. At the time I was away on a work exchange in Stockholm, Sweden and did not return home until the end of the summer, because of the expense involved. Mother died in 2003.

Schooling:

1957” I began Grade 1 at a one room school, located a mile east of our farm, in the hamlet of Dominionville. The school was closed at the end of my Grade 3, and I completed the rest of my elementary education at Maxville Public School, riding the school bus each day.

1965-67: Grades 9-10, Maxville High School, Maxville, Ontario.

1967-70: Central Peel Secondary School, Brampton, Ontario

1970-71 Took a year to work in various settings: bank, loading dock, pool construction, retail.

1971-75: Trinity College, University of Toronto, BA Political Economy, Hon.

I was involved in debating at university, and served one year as the Secretary of the

Debates Committee of Hart House, and one year as the President of the Debating Union of The University of Toronto. I enjoyed living at Trinity.

1975-78: Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, M.Div.

A classmate was Michelle Dungee, who would later marry John Hogman. John Hogman and David Hoffman arrived from Manitoba and started their first year when I was in second year. David and I began our ministries in Saskatchewan and David served there until his death in Regina in 2007. John died in 2012 in Toronto.

Church Service:

1. Settlement at Ogema-Bengough-Pangman Pastoral Charge, Souris Valley Pres
2. Study year, learning German in Vienna and Salzburg, followed by French school

in Paris, from March-June, 1983.

1983-86 Dundurn-Hanley Pastoral Charge, Saskatoon Presbytery. I was also a Civilian Officiating Clergy at Camp Dundurn, for Protestant service personnel. I conducted two services a month at the White Cap Sioux Reserve.

Mayfair United Church, Saskatoon Presbytery, as Associate Minister with the

Rev. Jack Carr (now retired in Saskatoon). My area was youth ministry and Christian Education. In November 1989 I had a blood clot on the brain and was off work for six weeks. Simultaneously, Jack was diagnosed with leukemia.

Rundle Memorial United Church in Banff, Alberta. Foothills Presbytery.

1999-2005 Cordova Bay United Church, Victoria, BC. Victoria Presbytery

2005-2010 James Bay United Church, Victoria Presbytery

2010-2013 First United Church, Kitimat, BC, Prince Rupert Presbytery

July 1, 2013 Retirement began. At the BC Conference level, I did serve as a member of BC Conference Executive, as chair of the Home Missions Committee and a member of the Finance Council of BC Conference.

Hobbies, Interests:

Because of the Scottish character of Glengarry where I grew up, I began to learn the bagpipes at age 16. Thereafter I played in a series of pipe bands, including the Lorne Scots (Brampton), the 48th Highlanders (Toronto), Earlscourt Legion Pipe Band (Toronto) and The Three Sisters Legion Pipe Band, Canmore, Alberta. As a part of the Lorne Scots Pipes and Drums, I played in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo of 1970. I have not played in a pipe band since the fall of 1991, due to health reasons.

In the early years of ministry, I traveled to Turkey, Israel/Palestine, Cuba, Australia, Costa Rica, various parts of the US, and extensively to Eastern and Western Europe. I have at various times lived for periods in Scotland, Sweden, Austria, France, New Jersey, Costa Rica.

I have had interests in painting, rose gardening, languages, reading, hiking and keeping parrots. Earlier in life I was quite interested in pen friends. Some of those friendships have remained and we have visited each other in person in Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Scotland and in Australia. These and other friendships have enriched my life greatly over the years.

Health Summary:

I first developed symptoms of Wegener’s Granulomatosis in the late fall of 2003. I was on Restorative Leave and partial Disability from September, 2004 to June, 2005. Congregations at Cordova Bay United Church and James Bay United Church were very supportive during this time. The condition was eventually stabilized by use of a newer immune suppressant drug called Rituximab. My last treatment with this drug was in 2018. In 2011 Wegener’s was renamed Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis (GWP); it has been a managed chronic condition since 2005.