William Findlay Scott

William F. Scott, 100, of St. Joseph, MI passed away peacefully at his residence at The Whitcomb on Thursday, February 8, 2018. His body had become fragile, but his mind was sound, retaining a good disposition and his smile until the very end. While saddened by his loss, his family celebrates a 100-year life well-lived and blessed with good health. Bill was born on August 1, 1917, in Newton, Iowa to George and Mary Hope (Findley) Scott. He was the middle sibling to sisters, Jean Power and Kathryn Jones. He married Helen Rodgers Weiler on July 21, 1949 in Newton, Iowa and adopted her son, Richard. All preceded him in death. After graduating high school, Bill packed one bag and headed off on a bus for Iowa State University where he graduated in mechanical engineering in 1939. In college, he was president of Delta Chi, elected to Tau Beta Pi engineering honorary and member of the musical fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha. His first job was with RCA in a two-year executive training program. Several years later, he moved to Westinghouse as a design engineer for the Laundromat, an automatic washer. With World War II escalating, he joined the Navy where he was assigned to the USS Kershaw as a Combat Information Center Officer. At the end of the war, Bill returned to his hometown to work for Maytag helping to create the Highlander washing machine. A new challenge presented itself when he took a position at Whirlpool in 1956. He labored on the design of a combination washer/dryer which never made it into production due to a lint problem that was never resolved. Bill took that failure in stride and later began working on the development of the Leap machine. He felt great pride knowing that during his many years in the laundry business he had played a part in the production of over one million machines that became a constant household item. Golf was a consuming passion from age 10. He loved the challenge of golf and the many friends who enjoyed playing a round at Berrien Hills Country Club. Traveling to Scotland several times, he loved the experience of playing the courses of St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Royal Troon, Gleneagles and Prestwick, alone or with his family. He gave up the game at age 94 after breaking his wrist while jumping over a snowdrift. A do-it-yourselfer, he loved both designing and constructing five new homes during his lifetime. There was nothing he couldn’t fix, a characteristic that was evident up until his death as he would tinker in his room on various things. His survivors include his daughter, Tricia Scott (Mark Giffels) of St. Joseph; grandchildren, Lesley Giffels of Chicago and Scott Giffels of Louisville, KY and several nieces and nephews. A special thank you to Hospice, the Whitcomb staff and Right At Home for making his last days comfortable. Cremation has taken place and a private gathering for family and close friends will take place next month. Arrangements entrusted to Starks & Menchinger Chapel and Cremation Services 556-9450. Those who wish to leave an on-line condolence for the family may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.