Suzanne Wright Scott
January 16, 1923 - June 23, 2016
Suzanne Wright Scott, who many thought would never stop, died peacefully at home in San Francisco surrounded by her family on June 23rd. She was 93.
Suzy Scott was a go-getter with a sharp mind and a quick wit, and lived a long happy life full of adventure and achievement.
She was the eldest of 4 children growing up in Southern California. At 10, her parents sent her to England to live with her maternal grandparents for a year, a time Suzy looked back on as formative. She kept close ties with her English cousins.
She spent her teenage years in Altadena CA, then headed to Stanford University. She joined the Tri-Delts, and excelled academically, graduating with a degree in psychology. She was selected to join the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, and stayed to earn an MA.
She served in the Red Cross in post-war Germany, where she met and in 1949 married US Army doctor Norman McLean (Jerry) Scott, jr. She raised 4 children on 3 continents. The family moved from Germany to Washington D.C. to Texas to San Francisco to Tokyo, where Suzy learned Japanese, taught English, and explored Tokyo by car and subway. She claimed, on occasion, to navigate by the sun.
The family thoroughly enjoyed nomadic Army life. They traveled in Europe, Japan, and the US; climbed Mt. Fuji and weathered a blizzard on Mt. Whitney. They camped in the Sierras and on the coast of Maine, skied in Switzerland, Lake Tahoe and Sapporo, and cruised the canals of Holland. Suzy lead the way enthusiastically: when someone was uncertain about upcoming events, travel plans or what was for dinner, inevitably Suzy would raise a forefinger and declare confidently, “Fear not!”
In 1970, the family moved back to the Presidio and Letterman Hospital, where Jerry served as commander and Suzy counseled wounded veterans making the transition to civilian life. Dr. Scott retired in 1973 and they settled into the Jordan Park home they would live in for the rest of their lives.
As the children left for college, Suzy turned to her professional career. She was the first managing director of Enterprise for High School Students, which trained and placed teenagers in jobs. Later, she joined Right Associates, an outplacement firm, where for 15 years she guided hundreds of laid-off employees through the throes of joblessness, helping them find their feet and a path to the next chapter of their lives.
She knew that rites of passage, like a honeymoon or mourning, were necessary times apart from regular life. On her own retirement, Suzy set herself a new challenge, enrolling at UC Berkeley Extension to learn Greek. At the end of a year she was reading Homeric classics in the original.
She enjoyed an active city life as a member of the Stanford Women’s Club, Stanford Alumni Association, The Phi Beta Kappa Society, Tri Delt Alumni, the Alter Guild of St Luke’s Episcopal Church, The Presidio Historical Association, the Society for Asian Art, the Opera Guild and the Wagner Society, and held season tickets to the Opera, where, for a number of seasons, she could also be seen on stage as a supernumerary. Her preferred mode of transport? The 38 Geary. It came often, had a limited, and was full of interesting fellow San Franciscans. Fervently dedicated to public transportation, her MUNI fast pass was always up to date, and well used.
For the last 20 years, Suzy was a fixture at the Asian Art Museum, where she had many treasured friends. She led tours at the Museum through 2015, served as Hospitality Chair, was the Daily Supervisor for the Tuesday docents, was on the Asian Arts National Docent Symposium Committee, and enjoyed Friday lectures. She found kinship at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, where the regulars at the 8:00 am service are a close-knit group.
In her later years she stuck close to home but hardly slowed down. She walked daily, took the bus to the Mechanics’ Institute Library for a Proust discussion group, and attended the Phi Beta Kappa Society conference every year.
Suzy left nothing untried. Her positive outlook, adventurous spirit, intellectual curiosity and genuine interest in others will be an inspiration to her family forever.
Her husband of 61 years, Jerry, her beloved son, Jim, and her brother Jim Wright preceded Suzy in death. She is survived by 3 daughters, Alison Hayes of Whidbey Island, WA, Sara Scott of Mill Valley, and Mary Albert of Pacific Grove; sons-in-law Joseph Hayes and Steven Albert and daughter-in-law Devaneide de Oliveira Scott; granddaughters Amanda Hayes King of Djakarta, Vanessa de Oliveira Dantas, Stephanie Suzanne de Oliveira Scott, and Julie Ann de Oliveira Scott of Fortaleza, Brazil; grandsons James Hayes of San Francisco, Henry Albert and Freddy Albert of Pacific Grove; and great-grandchildren Xavier and Victoria King; as well as her sister Joan (Bitz) Oyler of Upland CA, brother John Wright of Ventura, sisters in-law Travis Wright of Corte Madera, Margie Wright, and Elizabeth Groves of Harwichport MA, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held on Wednesday July 27th at noon, at the Presidio Chapel, 130 Fisher Loop, Presidio of San Francisco.