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<p><em>Scott Lyle “Loom” Loomis</em> was born on October 1, 1953. Known as Loom to most of his classmates, he came from humble beginnings in Golden Valley, MN, located on the outskirts of Minneapolis. He excelled as a Golden Valley Viking, lettering in wrestling, cross country, track, and football, as well as earning academic honors before graduating in 1971.</p>
<p>Loom then began what would become a lifelong commitment to his country. He enlisted in the Army in late 1972 and began his career as an Infantryman at Fort Benning, GA. Even as a private, he excelled in basic training, earning a Good Conduct Medal, followed by his Airborne Wings.</p>
<p>His first assignment was to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. He quickly rose to the rank of specialist fourth class and earned the Expert Infantryman Badge. Thoroughly impressing his chain of command, he applied for and, with their endorsement, was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School.</p>
<p>June 1978 found Loom in 7th Company of Beast Barracks, followed by assignment to Company E-2, his “home” for the first two years at the Academy. Every new cadet wants a prepster as their room, squad or companymate because he brings real-world calm and military precision to the chaos of Beast Barracks and beyond. Loom was our prepster. Unlike most of us, he relished being smoked by firsties. His E-2 days came to an abrupt end as an unexpected “scramble” scattered the Proud and Great to new companies for their final 24 months. Loom found new friends and challenges in A-l, First in the Corps.</p>
<p>Loom’s 48-month adventure was filled with “mandatory” visits to Tony’s Pizza for calzone, yet almost no visits to the library. Blessed with innate common sense, maturity, and smarts, Loom did well in academics. While fall brought amazingly colorful landscapes to Michie Stadium for Army football, it also found Loom and friends backpacking out Washington Gate and camping on Storm King Mountain. Winter was his favorite season, and when our Rockbound Highland home was blessed with deep snow and no classes Loom and friends donned cross-country skis, heading around Storm King on Route 218 for watering holes in Cornwall, NY. But nothing compared to the annual caravan of cars and RVs heading to Florida for spring break. Even the occasional broken down or burning RV on the New Jersey turnpike didn’t dampen Loom’s thrill of adventure. His green Jaguar was known to frequent Ladycliff, Mount St. Mary’s, the Jersey Shore, and, yes, even Philly. His Jaguar—dented, battle-scarred, and filled with memories of his escapades with his dear friends—occupied a place of honor in his garage until his passing.</p>
<p>Commissioned in the Infantry, Loom returned to his beloved Fort Benning before heading west to Fort Lewis, WA. During his platoon leader time in the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, Loom found himself the lead platoon for a battalion movement to contact. As luck would have it, someone stirred up a bunch of ground hornets that attacked Loom. Movement halted as Loom was medevac’d to Madigan Army Hospital with an unrecognizable swollen face. But, in true Infantry fashion, he immediately returned to the exercise—swollen and in obvious pain—but bound and determined to lead his platoon.</p>
<p>He and another West Pointer purchased a small farm in the town of Roy, WA. Later, he bought out the other officer’s share and made that farm his “forever” home—the place to which he would eventually retire.</p>
<p>As time marched on, so did Loom. He went further west to the Land of the Morning Calm (Korea) before returning yet again to Benning, where he found love and marriage. With marriage came a family. He and his wife, Son, had two daughters, as well as being adoptive parents to Son’s two nieces. They doted over the girls and introduced them to the great outdoors and adventures they would cherish forever.</p>
<p>Loom’s expertise with analytics and statistics caught TRADOC’s attention, and the family found themselves at Fort Leavenworth, KS, where he worked for the TRADOC Analysis Center. In the great Midwest, Loom and family continued camping and hiking local destinations while digging through treasures at every area antique auction.</p>
<p>Loom retired from the military in 1992 as a major and settled with his two youngest daughters, Stephanie and Samantha, in the shadow of majestic Mount Rainier, back at the homestead in Roy. While he enjoyed his life as a farmer, community volunteer, and selfless advocate for the needy, his girls were his greatest love. He was the team “Mom” for every sport the girls played. No one could compare to Loom as he rolled up in the minivan with water, snacks, and enthusiastic support. They continued to enjoy many wilderness adventures together, and he taught them an appreciation and respect for the outdoors.</p>
<p>Loom passed away unexpectedly on May 25, 2018 at his beloved farm in Roy. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Lorraine, and his brother, Loren. He is survived by daughters Dr. Stephanie Loomis and Samantha Loomis (Seth Eshelman) and by siblings Linda Loomis (Gary Knippenberg) and Laura (Larry) Kueny.</p>
<p>We will miss his smile and great laugh but know Loom is with us in spirit—still gripping hands with fellow soldiers, classmates, and friends with whom he served, befriended, or engaged over 40 glorious years. His legacy will be his commitment to his daughters and his joyful connection with friends. He knew no strangers and openly shared the harvest of his farm with everyone. </p>
<p><em>— Terry Clemons ’78 and classmates</em></p>
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