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<p>On February 28, 1934, <em>Jerry Claude Scott</em> was born to Edna Maye and Jack Dennis Scott of Ada, OK. Growing up, Jerry excelled academically, but it was on the field where he made his biggest mark. In 1952, during his senior year of high school, Jerry led Ada High School to win its first of many state football championships. This achievement caught the eye of coaches at Tulsa University, where he was offered a scholarship to play ball. Jerry attended Tulsa for one year before happily being accepted to West Point as part of the Class of 1957.</p>
<p>At West Point, Jerry thrived. As his former classmate and lifelong friend Bill Huckabee stated: “Jerry Scott was a born leader. West Point gave him the tools and the opportunity to hone those leadership skills. He took advantage of that opportunity. He was smart, he worked hard, and he held some of the highest leadership positions at West Point. He carried all of that into the Army and had a stellar career.”</p>
<p>It was also at West Point where Jerry met the love of his life, Jo Ellen (Jody) Hinshaw, the daughter of Frederick Milton Hinshaw (USMA 1932), who, with his wife (Barbara Shaw Hinshaw) and family, was stationed on post. The day following his graduation, Jerry and Jody married at the Cadet Chapel. That same week, Jerry was one of five newly minted West Point graduates featured on the television show <em>I’ve Got a Secret</em>, the secret being they’d each just graduated from West Point and immediately gotten married. At the conclusion of the show, the five brides came on stage as the celebrity contestants tried in vain to match each bride to her mate!</p>
<p>During their life in the military, Jerry and Jody (and eventually their three daughters) lived on various posts in the continental U.S. and overseas in Germany and Hawaii. During his career he led three airborne infantry platoons and commanded a mechanized infantry company on the Korean Demilitarized Zone, an airborne infantry company in Vietnam, two Special Forces A-Teams in Germany and an airborne infantry battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. He was deputy commander of the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg and commanded a brigade in the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, TX. He was S-3 (operations officer) of three different battalions and was a staff action officer on the Army General Staff in the Pentagon and the Commander in Chief Pacific staff in Hawaii. His final assignment was a G-3 (operations officer) of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg. He completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Ranger School, Airborne School, and the Infantry Officer Career Course at Fort Benning, GA; the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, VA; and the Air War College at Montgomery, AL. He also worked toward a graduate level degree at the University of Maryland.</p>
<p>His awards and decorations included the Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist Badge, two awards of Legion of Merit, the Soldier’s Medal, the Bronze Star for valor, two awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, two awards of the Air Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two awards of the Army Commendation Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star. He also was a member of the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara and was awarded parachutist’s wings from Greece, Vietnam, Canada, and Egypt.</p>
<p>He retired from the Army in 1983 when he and Jody relocated to Columbus, GA. He spent four and a half years working as assistant to the president and manager of the Administrative Services Division of Kinnett Dairies in Columbus. In 1987 he became a business and real estate broker under his own company, where he worked until 2007.</p>
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<p>In October 2003 he underwent lumbar surgery to relieve lower back pains he had experienced since 1960. Unfortunately, the surgery left him paralyzed from the chest down, and he was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Upon receiving the news that his paralysis was permanent, Jerry replied, “I always knew I was going to have a good retirement. I’m just going to have a different good retirement than I thought.” His unflinching positive outlook and steadfast sense of humor carried him through over 18 years of being wheelchair bound.</p>
<p>Jerry was a member of the Rotary Club of Columbus and served on its Board of Directors. He was secretary of the National Ranger Memorial Foundation, Inc., for a number of years, a member of the West Point Association of Graduates; a member of the Paralyzed Veterans of America; a member of the Military Officers Association of America; a member of the Military Order of World Wars; and a member of the St. Luke United Methodist Church, where he was a former member of its administrative board.</p>
<p>He loved all types of music. He had no musical talent but often amused himself playing the guitar, harmonica or pan flute. He loved bass fishing, quail hunting, bird watching, and nature in general. He also enjoyed solving crossword and Sudoku puzzles. He loved all people, especially his family. Few people have ever enjoyed life more than he.</p>
<p>Jerry was preceded in death by his father, mother, sister Rosemary and her husband, Dr. Albert D. Neal, and brother Dr. Robert E. Scott. He is survived by his wife, Jody; their three daughters: Barbara Scott of Auburn, AL and her husband, David Swanger, and sons, Lawrence Hoffman and Matthew Hoffman; Elizabeth Scott of Gainesville, GA and her son, Benjamin Jacoby; and Pamela Scott of Belvedere, CA and her husband, Timothy Koogle; numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews; and friends the world over.</p>
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