Melvin L. Scott
Marriages
Roseann Joyce
Donna Mourey
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6A Death Notice - August 4, 2015
Melvin L. Scott, 86, of Grand Junction, died Aug. 2, 2015 at Courtyard Care Center in Fruita. Services will be at a later date.
Mr. Scott was a Navy commander. Survivors include his wife, Donna; two sons, Jeffry Alan of Seattle and Jonathan Peter of Grand Junction; two daughters, Melissa Jane Johnson of Boulder and Melinda Joyce Scott of Grand Junction; one brother, Clarence “Jack” Scott of Grand Junction; and two grandchildren.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 7 B Obituary - September 12, 2015
Melvin Lloyd Scott, age 86,
of Grand Junction died at the
Courtyard Care Center in
Fruita on August 2, 2015. Mel
died of heart failure,
following a heart attack a few
months earlier. He has been
cremated, in accordance with
his wishes.
Mel was born to Clarence
Elvie Scott and Mary Pearl
(Lloyd) Scott on March 23, 1929, in Dalhart, Texas. Mel’s
sister, Mary Ida (Scott) Bray, was born in 1925 and his brother,
Clarence "Jack" Alvie Scott, was born in 1926. The family lived
in Dalhart, TX, and Guymon, OK, before moving to Grand
Junction in 1937. Mel graduated from Fruitvale High School in
1946 and graduated with an Associate’s Degree from Mesa
Junior College (the predecessor of Colorado Mesa University)
in 1948.
The college education benefits offered by the Navy recruiter
convinced Mel to enlist for four years. Mel reported to the
Naval Air Station in Pensacola, FL, in July of 1948 for basic
training and flight training. Mel was commissioned as a naval
aviator in 1950, and was assigned to an aircraft carrier for four
years in the Pacific. Mel was able to return to the University of
Colorado in Boulder in 1956 and complete a Bachelor of
Science degree in Engineering Physics in 1958 and was
admitted to the Physics honorary society, Sigma Pi Sigma. The
Navy made it possible for Mel to complete his college education
and gave him a career that he enjoyed, as well.
Mel’s Navy career included the following assignments: flight
instructor at Whiting Field in North Island, CA; flying the
Pacific Barrier patrolling for Soviet aircraft; physics and sailing
instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD;
patrolling for Soviet nuclear submarines off Newfoundland; and
Operations Manager at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. In the
first 20 years of Mel’s Naval career, he made 130 carrier
landings, flew over 4,000 hours in fixed-wing aircraft,
completed six graduate hours in Nuclear Physics and Advanced
Calculus at Annapolis, married, and had four children with his
wife Roseann (Joyce) Scott.
Mel’s final posting was in Albuquerque, NM, from 1967 to
1974, working for the Defense Nuclear Agency. Mel retired in
1974 as the Chief of Nuclear Weapons Effects Tests, and was
awarded the Legion of Merit for his contributions. By the end of
Mel’s 28-year Naval career, he had the rank of Commander and
was a registered Professional Engineer in New Mexico and
Colorado.
After retirement, Mel worked as a civil engineer for two years
in Albuquerque, NM. He wanted to return permanently to Grand
Junction, and applied for an engineering position with Bendix
Field Engineering. He worked for Bendix Field Engineering and
its successor, RUST GeoTech, for ten years. At retirement, he
was the Manager of Procurement.
Mel was married to his first wife for 24 years and to his
second, Donna (Mourey) Scott, for 37 years. He is survived by
his wife, Donna. His four children and their spouses also
survive him, Jeffry Alan Scott and Debra Kalin, Seattle, WA;
Melissa Joyce (Scott) and Christopher Johnson, Boulder, CO;
Melinda Jane Scott, Grand Junction, and Jonathan Peter Scott,
Grand Junction. Tucker Johnson and MacKenna Johnson,
Boulder, CO, Mel’s grandchildren, survive him, as does his
brother, Clarence "Jack" Scott and wife, Lena Mae Scott, Grand
Junction. Numerous nieces and nephews also survive.
Mel was predeceased by his parents and by his sister, Mary Ida
(Scott) Bray, who died in San Antonio, TX, on July 28, 2015.
A memorial service for Mel will be held on Wednesday,
September 16, 2015, at Martin Mortuary, 550 North Ave., Grand
Junction. Services will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Contributions may be made to Michael J. Fox Foundation for
Parkinson’s Research (www.michaeljfox.org), in lieu of flowers.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3 D Obituary - September 13, 2015
Same obituary as in September 12, 2015 Daily Sentinel.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 8A Obituary - September 14, 2015
Same obituary as in September 12, 2015 Daily Sentinel
