Scott Deter

1954 - 2017

Scott Deter, 62, co-owner of Deter Motor Company and a community and retail auto industry leader, died early Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at his home northeast of Atlantic.
Scott Deter was born June 4, 1954, in Omaha, Neb., to Donald E. and Jane (Laughlin) Deter. He graduated from Atlantic High School in 1972 and earned his B.A. degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, La. After a venturous trip around the world and earning a Masters' degree in business from the University of Michigan, he returned to Atlantic to join his father in the family auto dealership. Since then, the dealership has expanded to include all General Motors and Chrysler/Fiat lines.
Scott and LuAnn married in 2000. They honored each other's independence and loved to travel together.
Scott served on the IADA board of directors for many years, and currently was a Director At Large. Previous IADA board service included serving as a Director At Large from 2002-2005 and as District Three Director from 2012-2015. He was a county director beginning in 2000 and served as a member of the Legislative Committee from 1998-2001 and in 2003. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Foundation for Education and had been a board member since 2005 and Secretary-Treasurer since 2010. Scott was Iowa's 2012 TIME Dealer of the Year.
Locally, he and the Deter Motor Company have always been among the first to support Atlantic and area needs and projects, such as the YMCA, the Atlantic branch of Iowa Western Community College, Boy Scouts, and the Community Center. They initiated and have continued their support of the annual Athena award program, recognizing outstanding contributions by area women. Scott has also worked with the Atlantic schools in programs to prepare graduates for their place in the workforce.
An Eagle Scout and God and Country recipient, Scott had continued his personal interest in scouting. He served on the Board of Directors for the Mid-America Council, Boy Scouts of America since 2001 and spent many evenings or week-end days helping with Eagle Scout examinations. His philosophy, well known among friends and colleagues, and reflective of his scouting experience, was simple and direct, "Do the right thing." He enjoyed cleaning out brush on the Lucky Dog Run Farm and taking the dogs for a run with the Gator ATV. He was also known for his love of bicycling and RAGBRAI and, especially his love for his daughter and grandchildren, whom he cherished.
Surviving Scott are his wife, LuAnn Deter of Atlantic; his parents, Don and Jane Deter of Atlantic; his brother, Rod Deter, of San Antonio, Texas; his sister, Jennifer Deter and her partner, Craig Glasgow, of Percival; his daughter, Sarah Grady and her partner, Howard Kaplan, of Chicago, Ill.; his grandchildren, Ben and Lily, also of Chicago, Ill.; and his parents-in-law, Duane and Shirley Acker of Atlantic.
Memorials may be made to the family where they will be distributed to Scott's favorite organizations.
Funeral services were held at 4:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, at Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home in Atlantic.
Hockenberry Family Care in Atlanticwas in charge of the arrangements. Condolences may be left at www.hockenberryfamilycare.com.