Scott’s Father Don enjoyed spending summers and many vacations on his grandmother’s farm in rural upstate New York. After high school he served with the Army Security Agency and was involved in efforts to intercept foreign military communications as an intelligence operative based out of Northern California with an early version of the NSA.
Don rode with many motorcycle clubs, including members of some very famous bike clubs:
Don graduated from the New York College of Forestry at Syracuse University. After graduating, he began his career in federal service by managing the Bass Lake Recreation Unit for the U.S. Forest Service as a uniformed Forest Ranger and forest fire-fighter. Later, he administered timber sales in North Fork and supervised environmental work crews.
Don wore one of the first Smokey The Bear suits in a public parade as a member of the U.S. Forest Service. Scott got to wear the “Smokey Jr.” suit and it was HOT!!!!
Subsequently, Don moved to Central California and worked as a Realty Specialist for the Forest Service. He earned accreditation with the American Right of Way Association. After serving as a Lands Staff Officer for the Sierra National Forest, he retired with many accolades from utility companies, government agencies, and others with whom he dealt with over the years.
He spent a large portion of his time in South America.
During his career he also held offices with the local chapter of the Organization of Professional Employees of the United States Department of Agriculture and served a term as National Director.
He devoted six years of service to our community as a Police Reserve Officer.
Always active, Don enjoyed various recreational activities such as square dancing, motorcycling, hiking, camping, biking, and extensive world travel. During his lifetime, he visited 55 countries and gained knowledge that assisted him in his volunteer work with the zoo and took the Raptors and small animals on school tours.
After retirement, he continued his life in public service as a volunteer with multiple groups. He was the outing coordinator for the Tehipite Chapter of the Sierra Club for over 25 years, helping many to experience the great outdoors. He volunteered time to the Lung Association and assisted with the planning of fundraising backpack and bike trips. Don later was involved in the creation of the San Joaquin River Parkway which evolved into helping with the San Joaquin River Trail Council, with many years spent on trail construction, leadership for the council and as a parkway docent.
Don volunteered with the Discovery Center and the Zoo and he performed critical repair and maintenance on their local facilities. He was a docent at the zoo and conducted tours in addition to donating funds to construct an addition to the education building.
Don spent many years rebuilding Volkswagen vans as a hobby and taking them on extensive trips around the United States (including Alaska) and Canada. The skills he developed in auto repair led him to involvement with Habitat for Humanity where he serviced and sold donated vehicles to benefit Habitat.
As a young person, his favorite pets were dogs. In his later years, a series of cats became his little family and companions. He looks forward to meeting them again over “The Rainbow Bridge,” an animal lover’s dream place.
Over the past decade, walkers along the Canal which backs up to his home have enjoyed trash-free journeys due to his frequent clean-up efforts along that walkway.
Don gave much of his time, energy, and generous donations to his community, animal shelters, the zoo and church.
Don’s ashes are to be scattered in the Sierra mountains overlooking an area of his early forestry services and the San Joaquin River Trail which he helped to create.
