Township official was lifelong farmer

8/14/2003

GRAND RAPIDS, Ohio - George Milo Scott, a lifelong farmer and Washington Township official, died Tuesday in Wood County Hospital, Bowling Green. He was 77.

Mr. Scott died from complications brought on by ongoing heart disease, according to his daughter, Nancy Jane Scott.

After graduating from Washington Township High School in 1944, Mr. Scott joined the Navy during World War II. While stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago, Mr. Scott attended radioman school in Madison, Wis.

Discharged in August, 1946, as a seaman first class, Mr. Scott went back to work on his father's 225-acre farm in Washington Township, harvesting mostly grain. Less than a year after his return, in May, 1947, he married Donna Errett.

Mr. Scott's knowledge and success within the position grew to the point where he traveled to surrounding counties, offering unofficial consultations to officials in need.

He was subsequently elected president of the Wood County Township and Clerks Association, and served on the Ohio Township Trustees and Clerks Association's board of directors, and the Wood County Zoning Board.

Mr. Scott also managed a successful woodworking shop in his off-season, improving the interiors of homes throughout the community. In addition to cabinets and porches, Mr. Scott particularly liked making intricate jewelry boxes, for which he would scour the countryside for wood.

“He was a logical thinker, a problem solver,” his daughter said. “It helped him as a clerk and with his woodwork.”

In the late 1980s - after 20 years of public service and 50 years on the farm, Mr. Scott retired.

In addition to his governmental service, Mr. Scott participated in a host of community organizations.

He was a member of Calvary United Methodist Church in Tontogany; Oriana Rebekah Lodge 774; Lybarger Grimm American Legion Post 441; Independent Order of Odd FelLows, for which he served as Grand Master of the State of Ohio in 1974, and the “Big Eight” card club; and was a volunteer for the Washington Township fire department.

Surviving are his wife, Donna; and daughters, Nancy Jane Scott and Susan Marie Scott.

Visitation will be held after 2 p.m. today in Peinert Funeral Home, Tontogany. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in Calvary United Methodist Church, Tontogany.

The family requests tributes to the Otsego High School sports complex.