Jean W. Scott

August 27, 1921 - December 3, 2021

Jean W. Scott died peacefully at home, surrounded by loving family members, friends, three of her most extraordinary caregivers, Jennifer, Marni and Stephanie, and Dorothy, her Home Hospice nurse. Jean was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Miles J. and Irma B. Wooster, on August 27, 1921, and passed away the afternoon of December 3, 2021 ---100 years young! Subsequent to her birth she travelled with her parents to Elkin North Carolina where her father continued his career as sales manager for General Motors. Their next move was to Great Falls, Montana and finally back to Sterling, Illinois, where her parents had inherited a large farm. Quite a journey for a young girl of eight. Jean remembered the journey as a happy one during which she had obviously received a good education along the way since she finished her schooling at Sterling High School at age sixteen. After a year or so, she applied and was accepted for undergraduate training at Duke University where she received her BS degree in Language Arts. Returning home a short while after Pearl Harbor, she went to work in a munitions factory just outside of Sterling, and later, near the end of World War II, she accepted a position as a receptionist at the Sterling hospital. Eventually, Jean decided it was time to leave home and strike out on her own, so to speak. Upon an invitation from a couple from the Sterling Dillon family now living in Lafayette, Indiana, to come stay with them until she could get settled. Accepting a job at National Homes, she then moved into an apartment in Lafayette. She later found a better position serving as a secretary to William Berner, business manager of Men’s Residence Hall X. As usual for Jean, she was warmly accepted by the staff and many of the young men who came to know her. And in the fall of 1955, while reviewing some applications for a counselor position, she came upon one by a William E Scott, a Ph.D. candidate in Organizational Psychology. It was told she looked no further, recommending him for the position to Mr. Berner who invited Bill in for an interview and was hired on the spot. Jean and Bill became acquainted through accidental luncheon meetings in the Hall’s dining room. Needless to say, the luncheon meetings became more regular, and their relationship flourished to the point that one could say they were a couple. Bill had said early on that Jean was one of the most beautiful, charming, witty and bright young woman he had ever known. So, they went from dining room meetings to luncheons on the levee where luncheons without interruptions were possible (Some of the young men in the residence hall typically joined us to enjoy Jean’s warm, friendly, lovable self). Progressing to dates for dinner and a movie or a musical at Purdue’s Hall of Music and getting to know each other, they finally admitted to each other that they were very much in love. And after returning from separate Christmas holidays with their respective parents, they began to discuss marriage plans ending in their elopement to Nashville, Indiana, and marriage on a sunny day in May. It was a wonderful time working and living together in that one-bedroom apartment. However, Jean had become pregnant and by late December had to resign her job while Bill took on a full-time job as Purdue’s Assistant Personnel Director. And having outgrown that small apartment, Bill found the means to purchase a small two bedroom home close to the University. And so, their lives continued in the most supremely satisfying manner. Jean, with her outgoing, lovable personality had maintained her relationship with the close friends she had developed and introduced Bill to. She had also given birth to their daughter Kimberly Jean with the assistance of Dr. Ira Cole, the same obstetrician who had delivered Bill some 33 years earlier. A very active and cute little girl (she was a 10!). Kimberly was a handful, contributing very significantly to the loving relationship between Jean and Bill. It was also a very busy time for the family. Jean, an outstanding mother and homemaker was kept very busy caring for her “Precious” and keeping a very nice, rock-solid home. Bill continued his work toward the Ph.D., finishing in 1962 thereupon accepting a position on the Faculty of I. U’s Graduate School of Business. Jean did not want to leave Lafayette and all of their close friends there. In fact, Bill once noted that there were two heel-marks on the road, all the way to Bloomington. But with her amiable, outgoing, lovable personality, she very quickly developed enduring relationships with a number of married couples, many of whom remained close friends for most of their lives. Jean became, among other things, an avid bridge player, having joined a bridge club that usually met once a month in rotation among the members’ homes. This group of bright, attractive young women, most of whom were wives of faculty members, later decided to have periodic round-robin dinner parties for themselves and their spouses. This group, some twenty to twenty-five members, remained active for years, right up to retirement and beyond. And, in the meantime, Jean had become a member and sometime officer in Tri Kappa, an active participant in the Meals-on-Wheels service and providing other sorts of aid, especially for those in need in our community. She also became an active member of the Sigma Kappa alumnae group. Bill was also very busy designing and teaching new courses and seminars in the MBA and Doctoral programs and carrying out an extensive behavioral science research program. He also became a notable managerial consultant beginning with an invitation from some managers in the wood products industry. So, he was very busy, in fact too busy. He had sworn to never slight his teaching and research responsibilities and he never did. But he was otherwise absent from home for two or three days at a time, and longer in the summertime. That was too much- Jean and Bill found themselves growing apart and after a year or two, Bill, who believed at the time that he was the major contributor to the problem, sat down with Jean to analyze the problems they were having and to seek solutions, and with the aid of a marriage counselor, they began to solve their problems. And at church one time when Bill announced their sixtieth wedding anniversary and their minister had asked “What’s your secret”? Bill said, “well, you should try never to go to bed mad at each other, and moreover, if you can get through the first twenty years or so, the remaining years grow ever sweeter.” Indeed, they have. Jean and Bill remained a very happy, loving couple, especially during the last thirty years or so. Unfortunately, Jean was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer just short of three years ago. Bill had vehemently sworn that she would never be placed in a constant care facility where she would be surrounded by people she didn’t know, in a strange place she had never seen. So, Bill brought her home to stay after consulting with several experts who said it was very unlikely she would survive any sort of treatment, or if she did, her life would be a living hell with pain and suffering for as long as she lived. So, Bill kept her at home where they had lived in peace and comfort and unbounding love for the better part of twelve years; and where she was surrounded by loving family members, friends, and familiar caregivers until her passing December 3rd. She remained fairly lucid, and was bright, cheery, and happy for almost two and a half years, before her little old body began to shut down. She passed away quietly and without pain, with Bill at her side talking to her and caressing her face and forehead. Jean is survived by her husband, William E. Scott, and their daughter, Kimberly Jean Spicer (Kevin); her grandchildren Brooke Hoffa (Andy) Whitney Lynn Hanna, and Shane Spicer, and great- grandchildren, Claire and Lucas Hoffa. Jean is also survived by Bill’s daughter, Cynthia Holt (Edmund), and granddaughters Lauren McClave (Kevin), Cameron Voyles (Johnny), and Eleanor Holt; great -grandsons, Henry and Holt McClave, and great-granddaughters, Elizabeth and Clara Scott Voyles. Jean is sorely missed by husband, Bill, and all those who knew and loved her. Jean will be remembered at a private service to be held for her at the Allen Funeral Home in Bloomington, Indiana; and at a future memorial service which is to be announced.