Parents: Ethel Mae Cochran and William "Fred" Scott m. 10/31/1922
Siblings: Dorothy Elizabeth Scott Smith and Cochran Albert Scott
Spouse: Mary Louise Andrews Scott m. 6/23/1951
Children: William "Fred" Scott III, David Cochran Scott, and Martha Andrews Scott Reich
William Fred Scott, Jr., 55, a Thomasville city commissioner and outstanding business and civic leader, died Wednesday afternoon at Archbold Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
He was admitted to the hospital April 13 with an abdominal ailment. He underwent emergency surgery April 21 but failed to respond to extensive treatment. Death came at 1:15 p.m.
At the time of his death, Mr. Scott was completing the eighth year of his current term as Post 2 commissioner. He also had served an earlier term on the commission in 1956-1957.
Since 1970, he had been chairman of the board of directors of C&S Bank of Thomas County, which was founded as the Bank of Thomas County by his father, the late W. Fred Scott, Sr.
The bank was one of seven concerns here founded and operated by the senior Scott, and later by his two sons, Fred, Jr. and Cochran Scott.
Other businesses in the Scott enterprises included Scott Construction, Co., now Scott Industries; Radio Station WKTG, which later became WLOR; and the Scott Hotel, the present Downtown Motor Inn.
Born July 26, 1923, in Thomasville, Mr. Scott was graduated in 1941 from Thomasville High School, where he was senior class president and salutatorian and a member of the National Honor Society.
He entered the U.S. Army in 1943 and was assigned to the Medical Administration. He served 28 months with the 216th General Hospital in England, France and Germany before being discharged in 1946 with the rank of captain.
The following year he enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he received a degree in business administration. While at the university, he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa scholastic honor society, Sphinx, and Omicron Delta Kappa societies.
He also was president of Kappa Alpha societal fraternity and student president of the Gridiron Club.
Soon after his return to Thomasville, Mr. Scott was elected to a two-year term as state representative from Thomas County. He also was an active member on the county and district Democratic executive committees.
During his term as representative, he was elected president of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, based on his involvement and the active role he took in the operation of station WKTG.
He referred to the station's call letters as "We Keep Thomasville Growing."
He often did special broadcasts, including the Rose Festival parades from his vantage point on the marquee above Neel's Department Store.
In the late 1950s, he was stricken with a form of crippling arthritis, and, as the disease progressed, he was soon confined to a wheelchair.
He underwent orthopedic surgery in the early 1970s, enabling him to walk again with the aid of crutches at first, then a cane. He finally was able to discard the cane almost entirely.
Well-known for his inquiring mind, he gained an equal reputation for his dry wit and ready supply of "stories." He also was an avid sports fan, enjoying golf, football, baseball and basketball, among others.
In his civic activities, Mr. Scott was treasurer of the Thomas County Historical Society, a director of Thomasville Landmarks, Inc., and the first chairman of the Thomasville-Thomas County Council on Aging.
He had served on the Archbold Memorial Hospital board of trustees since 1972 and was chairman of the building and grounds committee, which initiated a building program of more than $5 million in the past several years.
Mr. Scott also was a former president of the Thomasville Thomas County Chamber of Commerce, the Community Council, Rose Festival chairman, Thomasville YMCA board member and a member of the Thomasville Kiwanis Club.
He was the city's representative on the committee which worked for many months to have the remains of Henry O. Flipper, a Thomasville-born slave and the first black to be graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, brought back to Thomasville for reburial ceremonies last year.
Mr. Scott was a member of T. L. Spence American Legion Post 31, Thomasville Masonic Lodge No. 369 and of First Baptist Church, where he had served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.
He was married in 1951 in Toccoa, Georgia to the former Mary Andrews. Mrs. Scott is an attorney, although not in active practice.
The couple's three children are William Fred Scott III, associate conductor of The Opera Company of Boston (Mass.); David Cochran Scott, owner of David Scott Amoco station here; and Martha Andrews Scott, a senior at Brookwood School.
Whiddon Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
"W. Fred Scott, Jr. Dies." Thomasville Times-Enterprise, GA, 26 April 1979.
SCOTT — A FIGHTER AND AN INSPIRATION:
Fred Scott, Jr. was a man of many faces, but the one he presented to the public was always wearing a smile or a pleasant look.
Scott, city commissioner here for two separate terms, including the current second consecutive four-year term, died Wednesday at Archbold Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
And those who knew him, for years or for just a few months, all used basically the same terms to describe him — a fighter and an inspiration.
Thomasville Mayor J. A. "Jack" Bracey, who shared the commission table with Scott, said the man had a wonderful outlook on life.
"For somebody to have been through what he had, he had a most remarkable attitude," Bracey said, referring to the crippling arthritis from which Scott suffered for about 20 years.
"He was a good commissioner to work with. He thought things out very thoroughly before making a decision." Most people here probably were not aware of what Scott had contributed to the community, Bracey said.
"His passing is a greater loss to the community than most of us realize."
His sphere of governmental savvy was not limited to city affairs, but stretched to Atlanta and the term he served as a state representative, meeting and knowing governors, fellow state legislators and national congressional figures.
One of those was U.S. Rep. Dawson Mathis. "Fred Scott has been one of the great inspirations to the people — particularly the young people — of Thomasville for the many things he did, but more importantly for the things he did not do," Mathis said today.
"He did not give up when disease took a healthy body and turned it into an almost immobile remain.
He did not complain with pain even when it was intense and interminable, and he did not sit idly as anyone in his physical condition might be prone to do.
Instead he persevered and through that perseverance and tenacity came eventual triumph," Mathis said.
He recalled the many hours of "torturous physical therapy" Scott endured working "to make his body strong enough to at least walk again."
"Through mental discipline, he brought himself back to serve the people of Thomasville through the city's government and civic organizations.
While Fred Scott's body deteriorated, his ready smile and quick wit never did. He was an inspiration to us all and we will miss him greatly," Mathis said.
Still another facet of Scott's life was business, from his days as owner-manager announcer with radio station WKTG, and various other enterprises, to his association with the C&S Bank of Thomas County, where he had served as chairman of the board of directors since 1970.
"Fred was a very loyal person to the bank and the community," said President Clifford S. Campbell, Jr. "He was always eager to do whatever he could to help the bank stay a safe and sound institution, yet one serving the community.
I think the thing that probably characterized him most was his cheery greeting. His usual comment when he came in the bank was 'everybody's got the C&S smile.' We knew he was in the bank when we heard that.
We may not always agree on everything, but we always arrived at a general consensus. And everyone knew of his love for Thomasville and his genuine desire to make the community a better place.
He never complained about his disablement, but kept going and we will continue to admire his courage," Campbell said.
As with any other public official, Scott often found himself the target of news media questions and interviewers — a session that always ended up with the reporter getting all the answers needed for a story.
Dean of local news reporters Albert Riley, said Scott was "unfailingly courteous and very responsive to every question" posed.
But more than that, "Fred was one of Thomasville's finest citizens who was in the forefront of every good move done in Thomasville since his days in high school.
If it had not been for his physical handicap of arthritis, Fred might well have gone to congress," Riley said.
"He was happy, cheerful and pleasant no matter how bad he might have felt."
"Nobody always agreed with him on every issue, but he had the city's best interests in mind. He was a great supporter of preserving the beauty of Thomasville, its trees and its heritage," Riley said.
Thomasville Times-Enterprise Managing Editor Julian Miller echoed Riley's statements.
"Fred Scott was the first friend I had in Thomasville," he said. "I knew I could always count on him to be open and honest. From the reburial of Lt. Henry Flipper to his pet project of providing the elderly of Thomasville with commuter service, there was no doubt he always had the good of the community at heart.
The community has lost one of its best friends."
*****
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
Name: William Fred Scott, Jr.
SAR Membership: 88787
Birth Date: 26 Jul 1923
Birth Place: Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia
Mother: Ethel Cochran Scott
SAR member through his Mother.
Siblings: Dorothy Elizabeth Scott Smith and Cochran Albert Scott
Spouse: Mary Louise Andrews Scott m. 6/23/1951
Children: William "Fred" Scott III, David Cochran Scott, and Martha Andrews Scott Reich
William Fred Scott, Jr., 55, a Thomasville city commissioner and outstanding business and civic leader, died Wednesday afternoon at Archbold Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
He was admitted to the hospital April 13 with an abdominal ailment. He underwent emergency surgery April 21 but failed to respond to extensive treatment. Death came at 1:15 p.m.
At the time of his death, Mr. Scott was completing the eighth year of his current term as Post 2 commissioner. He also had served an earlier term on the commission in 1956-1957.
Since 1970, he had been chairman of the board of directors of C&S Bank of Thomas County, which was founded as the Bank of Thomas County by his father, the late W. Fred Scott, Sr.
The bank was one of seven concerns here founded and operated by the senior Scott, and later by his two sons, Fred, Jr. and Cochran Scott.
Other businesses in the Scott enterprises included Scott Construction, Co., now Scott Industries; Radio Station WKTG, which later became WLOR; and the Scott Hotel, the present Downtown Motor Inn.
Born July 26, 1923, in Thomasville, Mr. Scott was graduated in 1941 from Thomasville High School, where he was senior class president and salutatorian and a member of the National Honor Society.
He entered the U.S. Army in 1943 and was assigned to the Medical Administration. He served 28 months with the 216th General Hospital in England, France and Germany before being discharged in 1946 with the rank of captain.
The following year he enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he received a degree in business administration. While at the university, he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa scholastic honor society, Sphinx, and Omicron Delta Kappa societies.
He also was president of Kappa Alpha societal fraternity and student president of the Gridiron Club.
Soon after his return to Thomasville, Mr. Scott was elected to a two-year term as state representative from Thomas County. He also was an active member on the county and district Democratic executive committees.
During his term as representative, he was elected president of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, based on his involvement and the active role he took in the operation of station WKTG.
He referred to the station's call letters as "We Keep Thomasville Growing."
He often did special broadcasts, including the Rose Festival parades from his vantage point on the marquee above Neel's Department Store.
In the late 1950s, he was stricken with a form of crippling arthritis, and, as the disease progressed, he was soon confined to a wheelchair.
He underwent orthopedic surgery in the early 1970s, enabling him to walk again with the aid of crutches at first, then a cane. He finally was able to discard the cane almost entirely.
Well-known for his inquiring mind, he gained an equal reputation for his dry wit and ready supply of "stories." He also was an avid sports fan, enjoying golf, football, baseball and basketball, among others.
In his civic activities, Mr. Scott was treasurer of the Thomas County Historical Society, a director of Thomasville Landmarks, Inc., and the first chairman of the Thomasville-Thomas County Council on Aging.
He had served on the Archbold Memorial Hospital board of trustees since 1972 and was chairman of the building and grounds committee, which initiated a building program of more than $5 million in the past several years.
Mr. Scott also was a former president of the Thomasville Thomas County Chamber of Commerce, the Community Council, Rose Festival chairman, Thomasville YMCA board member and a member of the Thomasville Kiwanis Club.
He was the city's representative on the committee which worked for many months to have the remains of Henry O. Flipper, a Thomasville-born slave and the first black to be graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, brought back to Thomasville for reburial ceremonies last year.
Mr. Scott was a member of T. L. Spence American Legion Post 31, Thomasville Masonic Lodge No. 369 and of First Baptist Church, where he had served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.
He was married in 1951 in Toccoa, Georgia to the former Mary Andrews. Mrs. Scott is an attorney, although not in active practice.
The couple's three children are William Fred Scott III, associate conductor of The Opera Company of Boston (Mass.); David Cochran Scott, owner of David Scott Amoco station here; and Martha Andrews Scott, a senior at Brookwood School.
Whiddon Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
"W. Fred Scott, Jr. Dies." Thomasville Times-Enterprise, GA, 26 April 1979.
SCOTT — A FIGHTER AND AN INSPIRATION:
Fred Scott, Jr. was a man of many faces, but the one he presented to the public was always wearing a smile or a pleasant look.
Scott, city commissioner here for two separate terms, including the current second consecutive four-year term, died Wednesday at Archbold Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
And those who knew him, for years or for just a few months, all used basically the same terms to describe him — a fighter and an inspiration.
Thomasville Mayor J. A. "Jack" Bracey, who shared the commission table with Scott, said the man had a wonderful outlook on life.
"For somebody to have been through what he had, he had a most remarkable attitude," Bracey said, referring to the crippling arthritis from which Scott suffered for about 20 years.
"He was a good commissioner to work with. He thought things out very thoroughly before making a decision." Most people here probably were not aware of what Scott had contributed to the community, Bracey said.
"His passing is a greater loss to the community than most of us realize."
His sphere of governmental savvy was not limited to city affairs, but stretched to Atlanta and the term he served as a state representative, meeting and knowing governors, fellow state legislators and national congressional figures.
One of those was U.S. Rep. Dawson Mathis. "Fred Scott has been one of the great inspirations to the people — particularly the young people — of Thomasville for the many things he did, but more importantly for the things he did not do," Mathis said today.
"He did not give up when disease took a healthy body and turned it into an almost immobile remain.
He did not complain with pain even when it was intense and interminable, and he did not sit idly as anyone in his physical condition might be prone to do.
Instead he persevered and through that perseverance and tenacity came eventual triumph," Mathis said.
He recalled the many hours of "torturous physical therapy" Scott endured working "to make his body strong enough to at least walk again."
"Through mental discipline, he brought himself back to serve the people of Thomasville through the city's government and civic organizations.
While Fred Scott's body deteriorated, his ready smile and quick wit never did. He was an inspiration to us all and we will miss him greatly," Mathis said.
Still another facet of Scott's life was business, from his days as owner-manager announcer with radio station WKTG, and various other enterprises, to his association with the C&S Bank of Thomas County, where he had served as chairman of the board of directors since 1970.
"Fred was a very loyal person to the bank and the community," said President Clifford S. Campbell, Jr. "He was always eager to do whatever he could to help the bank stay a safe and sound institution, yet one serving the community.
I think the thing that probably characterized him most was his cheery greeting. His usual comment when he came in the bank was 'everybody's got the C&S smile.' We knew he was in the bank when we heard that.
We may not always agree on everything, but we always arrived at a general consensus. And everyone knew of his love for Thomasville and his genuine desire to make the community a better place.
He never complained about his disablement, but kept going and we will continue to admire his courage," Campbell said.
As with any other public official, Scott often found himself the target of news media questions and interviewers — a session that always ended up with the reporter getting all the answers needed for a story.
Dean of local news reporters Albert Riley, said Scott was "unfailingly courteous and very responsive to every question" posed.
But more than that, "Fred was one of Thomasville's finest citizens who was in the forefront of every good move done in Thomasville since his days in high school.
If it had not been for his physical handicap of arthritis, Fred might well have gone to congress," Riley said.
"He was happy, cheerful and pleasant no matter how bad he might have felt."
"Nobody always agreed with him on every issue, but he had the city's best interests in mind. He was a great supporter of preserving the beauty of Thomasville, its trees and its heritage," Riley said.
Thomasville Times-Enterprise Managing Editor Julian Miller echoed Riley's statements.
"Fred Scott was the first friend I had in Thomasville," he said. "I knew I could always count on him to be open and honest. From the reburial of Lt. Henry Flipper to his pet project of providing the elderly of Thomasville with commuter service, there was no doubt he always had the good of the community at heart.
The community has lost one of its best friends."
*****
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
Name: William Fred Scott, Jr.
SAR Membership: 88787
Birth Date: 26 Jul 1923
Birth Place: Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia
Mother: Ethel Cochran Scott
SAR member through his Mother.
Parents: Ethel Mae Cochran and William "Fred" Scott m. 10/31/1922
Siblings: Dorothy Elizabeth Scott Smith and Cochran Albert Scott
Spouse: Mary Louise Andrews Scott m. 6/23/1951
Children: William "Fred" Scott III, David Cochran Scott, and Martha Andrews Scott Reich
William Fred Scott, Jr., 55, a Thomasville city commissioner and outstanding business and civic leader, died Wednesday afternoon at Archbold Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
He was admitted to the hospital April 13 with an abdominal ailment. He underwent emergency surgery April 21 but failed to respond to extensive treatment. Death came at 1:15 p.m.
At the time of his death, Mr. Scott was completing the eighth year of his current term as Post 2 commissioner. He also had served an earlier term on the commission in 1956-1957.
Since 1970, he had been chairman of the board of directors of C&S Bank of Thomas County, which was founded as the Bank of Thomas County by his father, the late W. Fred Scott, Sr.
The bank was one of seven concerns here founded and operated by the senior Scott, and later by his two sons, Fred, Jr. and Cochran Scott.
Other businesses in the Scott enterprises included Scott Construction, Co., now Scott Industries; Radio Station WKTG, which later became WLOR; and the Scott Hotel, the present Downtown Motor Inn.
Born July 26, 1923, in Thomasville, Mr. Scott was graduated in 1941 from Thomasville High School, where he was senior class president and salutatorian and a member of the National Honor Society.
He entered the U.S. Army in 1943 and was assigned to the Medical Administration. He served 28 months with the 216th General Hospital in England, France and Germany before being discharged in 1946 with the rank of captain.
The following year he enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he received a degree in business administration. While at the university, he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa scholastic honor society, Sphinx, and Omicron Delta Kappa societies.
He also was president of Kappa Alpha societal fraternity and student president of the Gridiron Club.
Soon after his return to Thomasville, Mr. Scott was elected to a two-year term as state representative from Thomas County. He also was an active member on the county and district Democratic executive committees.
During his term as representative, he was elected president of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, based on his involvement and the active role he took in the operation of station WKTG.
He referred to the station's call letters as "We Keep Thomasville Growing."
He often did special broadcasts, including the Rose Festival parades from his vantage point on the marquee above Neel's Department Store.
In the late 1950s, he was stricken with a form of crippling arthritis, and, as the disease progressed, he was soon confined to a wheelchair.
He underwent orthopedic surgery in the early 1970s, enabling him to walk again with the aid of crutches at first, then a cane. He finally was able to discard the cane almost entirely.
Well-known for his inquiring mind, he gained an equal reputation for his dry wit and ready supply of "stories." He also was an avid sports fan, enjoying golf, football, baseball and basketball, among others.
In his civic activities, Mr. Scott was treasurer of the Thomas County Historical Society, a director of Thomasville Landmarks, Inc., and the first chairman of the Thomasville-Thomas County Council on Aging.
He had served on the Archbold Memorial Hospital board of trustees since 1972 and was chairman of the building and grounds committee, which initiated a building program of more than $5 million in the past several years.
Mr. Scott also was a former president of the Thomasville Thomas County Chamber of Commerce, the Community Council, Rose Festival chairman, Thomasville YMCA board member and a member of the Thomasville Kiwanis Club.
He was the city's representative on the committee which worked for many months to have the remains of Henry O. Flipper, a Thomasville-born slave and the first black to be graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, brought back to Thomasville for reburial ceremonies last year.
Mr. Scott was a member of T. L. Spence American Legion Post 31, Thomasville Masonic Lodge No. 369 and of First Baptist Church, where he had served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.
He was married in 1951 in Toccoa, Georgia to the former Mary Andrews. Mrs. Scott is an attorney, although not in active practice.
The couple's three children are William Fred Scott III, associate conductor of The Opera Company of Boston (Mass.); David Cochran Scott, owner of David Scott Amoco station here; and Martha Andrews Scott, a senior at Brookwood School.
Whiddon Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
"W. Fred Scott, Jr. Dies." Thomasville Times-Enterprise, GA, 26 April 1979.
SCOTT — A FIGHTER AND AN INSPIRATION:
Fred Scott, Jr. was a man of many faces, but the one he presented to the public was always wearing a smile or a pleasant look.
Scott, city commissioner here for two separate terms, including the current second consecutive four-year term, died Wednesday at Archbold Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
And those who knew him, for years or for just a few months, all used basically the same terms to describe him — a fighter and an inspiration.
Thomasville Mayor J. A. "Jack" Bracey, who shared the commission table with Scott, said the man had a wonderful outlook on life.
"For somebody to have been through what he had, he had a most remarkable attitude," Bracey said, referring to the crippling arthritis from which Scott suffered for about 20 years.
"He was a good commissioner to work with. He thought things out very thoroughly before making a decision." Most people here probably were not aware of what Scott had contributed to the community, Bracey said.
"His passing is a greater loss to the community than most of us realize."
His sphere of governmental savvy was not limited to city affairs, but stretched to Atlanta and the term he served as a state representative, meeting and knowing governors, fellow state legislators and national congressional figures.
One of those was U.S. Rep. Dawson Mathis. "Fred Scott has been one of the great inspirations to the people — particularly the young people — of Thomasville for the many things he did, but more importantly for the things he did not do," Mathis said today.
"He did not give up when disease took a healthy body and turned it into an almost immobile remain.
He did not complain with pain even when it was intense and interminable, and he did not sit idly as anyone in his physical condition might be prone to do.
Instead he persevered and through that perseverance and tenacity came eventual triumph," Mathis said.
He recalled the many hours of "torturous physical therapy" Scott endured working "to make his body strong enough to at least walk again."
"Through mental discipline, he brought himself back to serve the people of Thomasville through the city's government and civic organizations.
While Fred Scott's body deteriorated, his ready smile and quick wit never did. He was an inspiration to us all and we will miss him greatly," Mathis said.
Still another facet of Scott's life was business, from his days as owner-manager announcer with radio station WKTG, and various other enterprises, to his association with the C&S Bank of Thomas County, where he had served as chairman of the board of directors since 1970.
"Fred was a very loyal person to the bank and the community," said President Clifford S. Campbell, Jr. "He was always eager to do whatever he could to help the bank stay a safe and sound institution, yet one serving the community.
I think the thing that probably characterized him most was his cheery greeting. His usual comment when he came in the bank was 'everybody's got the C&S smile.' We knew he was in the bank when we heard that.
We may not always agree on everything, but we always arrived at a general consensus. And everyone knew of his love for Thomasville and his genuine desire to make the community a better place.
He never complained about his disablement, but kept going and we will continue to admire his courage," Campbell said.
As with any other public official, Scott often found himself the target of news media questions and interviewers — a session that always ended up with the reporter getting all the answers needed for a story.
Dean of local news reporters Albert Riley, said Scott was "unfailingly courteous and very responsive to every question" posed.
But more than that, "Fred was one of Thomasville's finest citizens who was in the forefront of every good move done in Thomasville since his days in high school.
If it had not been for his physical handicap of arthritis, Fred might well have gone to congress," Riley said.
"He was happy, cheerful and pleasant no matter how bad he might have felt."
"Nobody always agreed with him on every issue, but he had the city's best interests in mind. He was a great supporter of preserving the beauty of Thomasville, its trees and its heritage," Riley said.
Thomasville Times-Enterprise Managing Editor Julian Miller echoed Riley's statements.
"Fred Scott was the first friend I had in Thomasville," he said. "I knew I could always count on him to be open and honest. From the reburial of Lt. Henry Flipper to his pet project of providing the elderly of Thomasville with commuter service, there was no doubt he always had the good of the community at heart.
The community has lost one of its best friends."
*****
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
Name: William Fred Scott, Jr.
SAR Membership: 88787
Birth Date: 26 Jul 1923
Birth Place: Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia
Mother: Ethel Cochran Scott
SAR member through his Mother.
Siblings: Dorothy Elizabeth Scott Smith and Cochran Albert Scott
Spouse: Mary Louise Andrews Scott m. 6/23/1951
Children: William "Fred" Scott III, David Cochran Scott, and Martha Andrews Scott Reich
William Fred Scott, Jr., 55, a Thomasville city commissioner and outstanding business and civic leader, died Wednesday afternoon at Archbold Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
He was admitted to the hospital April 13 with an abdominal ailment. He underwent emergency surgery April 21 but failed to respond to extensive treatment. Death came at 1:15 p.m.
At the time of his death, Mr. Scott was completing the eighth year of his current term as Post 2 commissioner. He also had served an earlier term on the commission in 1956-1957.
Since 1970, he had been chairman of the board of directors of C&S Bank of Thomas County, which was founded as the Bank of Thomas County by his father, the late W. Fred Scott, Sr.
The bank was one of seven concerns here founded and operated by the senior Scott, and later by his two sons, Fred, Jr. and Cochran Scott.
Other businesses in the Scott enterprises included Scott Construction, Co., now Scott Industries; Radio Station WKTG, which later became WLOR; and the Scott Hotel, the present Downtown Motor Inn.
Born July 26, 1923, in Thomasville, Mr. Scott was graduated in 1941 from Thomasville High School, where he was senior class president and salutatorian and a member of the National Honor Society.
He entered the U.S. Army in 1943 and was assigned to the Medical Administration. He served 28 months with the 216th General Hospital in England, France and Germany before being discharged in 1946 with the rank of captain.
The following year he enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he received a degree in business administration. While at the university, he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa scholastic honor society, Sphinx, and Omicron Delta Kappa societies.
He also was president of Kappa Alpha societal fraternity and student president of the Gridiron Club.
Soon after his return to Thomasville, Mr. Scott was elected to a two-year term as state representative from Thomas County. He also was an active member on the county and district Democratic executive committees.
During his term as representative, he was elected president of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, based on his involvement and the active role he took in the operation of station WKTG.
He referred to the station's call letters as "We Keep Thomasville Growing."
He often did special broadcasts, including the Rose Festival parades from his vantage point on the marquee above Neel's Department Store.
In the late 1950s, he was stricken with a form of crippling arthritis, and, as the disease progressed, he was soon confined to a wheelchair.
He underwent orthopedic surgery in the early 1970s, enabling him to walk again with the aid of crutches at first, then a cane. He finally was able to discard the cane almost entirely.
Well-known for his inquiring mind, he gained an equal reputation for his dry wit and ready supply of "stories." He also was an avid sports fan, enjoying golf, football, baseball and basketball, among others.
In his civic activities, Mr. Scott was treasurer of the Thomas County Historical Society, a director of Thomasville Landmarks, Inc., and the first chairman of the Thomasville-Thomas County Council on Aging.
He had served on the Archbold Memorial Hospital board of trustees since 1972 and was chairman of the building and grounds committee, which initiated a building program of more than $5 million in the past several years.
Mr. Scott also was a former president of the Thomasville Thomas County Chamber of Commerce, the Community Council, Rose Festival chairman, Thomasville YMCA board member and a member of the Thomasville Kiwanis Club.
He was the city's representative on the committee which worked for many months to have the remains of Henry O. Flipper, a Thomasville-born slave and the first black to be graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, brought back to Thomasville for reburial ceremonies last year.
Mr. Scott was a member of T. L. Spence American Legion Post 31, Thomasville Masonic Lodge No. 369 and of First Baptist Church, where he had served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.
He was married in 1951 in Toccoa, Georgia to the former Mary Andrews. Mrs. Scott is an attorney, although not in active practice.
The couple's three children are William Fred Scott III, associate conductor of The Opera Company of Boston (Mass.); David Cochran Scott, owner of David Scott Amoco station here; and Martha Andrews Scott, a senior at Brookwood School.
Whiddon Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
"W. Fred Scott, Jr. Dies." Thomasville Times-Enterprise, GA, 26 April 1979.
SCOTT — A FIGHTER AND AN INSPIRATION:
Fred Scott, Jr. was a man of many faces, but the one he presented to the public was always wearing a smile or a pleasant look.
Scott, city commissioner here for two separate terms, including the current second consecutive four-year term, died Wednesday at Archbold Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
And those who knew him, for years or for just a few months, all used basically the same terms to describe him — a fighter and an inspiration.
Thomasville Mayor J. A. "Jack" Bracey, who shared the commission table with Scott, said the man had a wonderful outlook on life.
"For somebody to have been through what he had, he had a most remarkable attitude," Bracey said, referring to the crippling arthritis from which Scott suffered for about 20 years.
"He was a good commissioner to work with. He thought things out very thoroughly before making a decision." Most people here probably were not aware of what Scott had contributed to the community, Bracey said.
"His passing is a greater loss to the community than most of us realize."
His sphere of governmental savvy was not limited to city affairs, but stretched to Atlanta and the term he served as a state representative, meeting and knowing governors, fellow state legislators and national congressional figures.
One of those was U.S. Rep. Dawson Mathis. "Fred Scott has been one of the great inspirations to the people — particularly the young people — of Thomasville for the many things he did, but more importantly for the things he did not do," Mathis said today.
"He did not give up when disease took a healthy body and turned it into an almost immobile remain.
He did not complain with pain even when it was intense and interminable, and he did not sit idly as anyone in his physical condition might be prone to do.
Instead he persevered and through that perseverance and tenacity came eventual triumph," Mathis said.
He recalled the many hours of "torturous physical therapy" Scott endured working "to make his body strong enough to at least walk again."
"Through mental discipline, he brought himself back to serve the people of Thomasville through the city's government and civic organizations.
While Fred Scott's body deteriorated, his ready smile and quick wit never did. He was an inspiration to us all and we will miss him greatly," Mathis said.
Still another facet of Scott's life was business, from his days as owner-manager announcer with radio station WKTG, and various other enterprises, to his association with the C&S Bank of Thomas County, where he had served as chairman of the board of directors since 1970.
"Fred was a very loyal person to the bank and the community," said President Clifford S. Campbell, Jr. "He was always eager to do whatever he could to help the bank stay a safe and sound institution, yet one serving the community.
I think the thing that probably characterized him most was his cheery greeting. His usual comment when he came in the bank was 'everybody's got the C&S smile.' We knew he was in the bank when we heard that.
We may not always agree on everything, but we always arrived at a general consensus. And everyone knew of his love for Thomasville and his genuine desire to make the community a better place.
He never complained about his disablement, but kept going and we will continue to admire his courage," Campbell said.
As with any other public official, Scott often found himself the target of news media questions and interviewers — a session that always ended up with the reporter getting all the answers needed for a story.
Dean of local news reporters Albert Riley, said Scott was "unfailingly courteous and very responsive to every question" posed.
But more than that, "Fred was one of Thomasville's finest citizens who was in the forefront of every good move done in Thomasville since his days in high school.
If it had not been for his physical handicap of arthritis, Fred might well have gone to congress," Riley said.
"He was happy, cheerful and pleasant no matter how bad he might have felt."
"Nobody always agreed with him on every issue, but he had the city's best interests in mind. He was a great supporter of preserving the beauty of Thomasville, its trees and its heritage," Riley said.
Thomasville Times-Enterprise Managing Editor Julian Miller echoed Riley's statements.
"Fred Scott was the first friend I had in Thomasville," he said. "I knew I could always count on him to be open and honest. From the reburial of Lt. Henry Flipper to his pet project of providing the elderly of Thomasville with commuter service, there was no doubt he always had the good of the community at heart.
The community has lost one of its best friends."
*****
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
Name: William Fred Scott, Jr.
SAR Membership: 88787
Birth Date: 26 Jul 1923
Birth Place: Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia
Mother: Ethel Cochran Scott
SAR member through his Mother.
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