Family, friends remember Dave Scott
It took his passing from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, to separate Dave Scott from his beloved hometown of Amherstburg and its high school, but there can be no erasing the imprint the prominent coach and teacher made in his community.
Beginning with his days as a General Amherst student through a 43-year teaching career that saw him continue to coach at the school until his health forced him to stop in 2016, Scott has been a constant presence.
The 71-year-old Scott succumbed to Lou Gehrig’s disease Thursday fittingly in a home that has been in the Scott family for more than a century.
“Giving back to the community and the kids he coached, that’s the most important thing to me,” said Jason Laframboise, who was coached by Scott in the 1980s in football and track.
“It was unconditional giving from him. He expected nothing in return. He just wanted the kids he coached to succeed, have fun and enjoy themselves.”
Scott began his journey to prominence in General Amherst’s history as a Grade 9 student in 1959.
An outstanding athlete, Scott was a founding member of the football program in 1961 as the school’s first quarterback and three years later was the first male athlete of the year.
After completing university, he began teaching at Amherst in 1968 and became head of physical education in 1971. By then he’d already launched the track and field team that was one of the area’s dominant programs from 1974 to 1995.
“I think the biggest thing I’ll remember about him is he was a constant,” said Scott’s nephew, Greg Scott, who’s now the head of physical education at General Amherst.
“He was there so long, you took for granted that he’d always be there. He was a model of consistency. In the fall he coached football, if it was spring it was track and field and a lot of years he coached basketball in the winter.”
Greg Scott said even after he retired from teaching in 2000, his uncle’s presence didn’t diminish in the town.
“He liked to go for a walk everyday through downtown,” said Scott, the fourth member of the Scott clan to teach at General Amherst.
“You couldn’t miss him in that yellow jacket. People would stop him to chat.
“I think the thing the people of Amherstburg will miss isn’t just his coaching, he was so involved in the community, too.”
In addition to the multiple team championships and individual medals his Amherst athletes won in every sport he coached, Scott piled up just as many honours for his work in the community. He played a key role in getting the town’s original track and football complex built at Centennial Park.
Scott was also given a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal, an Ontario Bicentennial Volunteer Award by former premier Bill Davis and has been recognized by the town of Amherstburg and General Amherst.
The Kinsmen Club of Windsor awarded him the Labatt’s Award as Sports Person of the Year in 1983.
“He taught me to do what I love,” Greg Scott said. “He loved being around kids. It kept him young ... He loved the high school and his community so much. That was always his mindset.”
Visitation will be held Monday from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Families First in Amherstburg (585 Sandwich St. S.).
On Tuesday friends and family are invited to gather at 10 a.m. at Christ Anglican Church (317 Ramsey St., Amherstburg) with the funeral service beginning at 11 a.m.