F. Douglas Scutchfield

1942 - 2022

F. Douglas Scutchfield
April 23, 1942 - May 23, 2022
Lexington, Kentucky - Frank Douglas Scutchfield, M.D., known to his immediate family as "Doug" and to the rest of the world as "Scutch", died on May 23, 2022, after 80 years of striving to make the world a better place. He was a legend in the public health community and also a bit of a character. Six-foot-four with red hair and protruding ears, he was hard to miss and even harder to forget. Born in Wheelwright, Kentucky on April 23, 1942, he was the son of Beecher (also "Scutch") and Ann Osborne Scutchfield, who preceded him in death. He grew up in Perry County and graduated from Martin High School in Floyd County.
Scutch attended Eastern Kentucky University, where he would meet the love of his life. He and the former Phyllis Ann Halbleib of Louisville were married on August 11, 1962-two weeks before he began medical school at age 20. Their union lasted until his death, and it was a successful one. Phyllis dropped out of college at 19 and put Scutch through school by typing autopsies for the pathology department at UK. He would later return the favor, supporting her first while she finished her Bachelor's degree, J.D. at the University of Alabama and LLM in Taxation from the University San Diego.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Lexington attorney Alex (Jennifer) Scutchfield; grandchildren, Cassandra Ann Scutchfield and Ethan Layne Scutchfield; brother Scott (Bunny) Scutchfield; nieces Elizabeth Layne Scutchfield, Kim (Keith) Hix, and nephew Samuel Appleton Scutchfield.
After finishing medical school at UK, Scutch completed an internship at Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, then served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA. He returned to UK as an Assistant Professor, stationed in Morehead, Kentucky.
Scutch dedicated his life to "stomping out disease and ignorance." After a turn as associate Dean at the College of Community Health Sciences at the University of Alabama, he founded and served as the inaugural director of San Diego State University's School of Public Health. In 1997, he returned to his home state to start the School (now College) of Public Health at the University of Kentucky.
A professor and scholar, Scutch authored more than 200 publications and oversaw grants totaling well into the eight figures. He taught students, including his beloved undergraduates at UK's Lewis Honors College, until mere weeks before his death. He was awarded for his commitment to scholarship too many times to recount. Among his more recent honors were the Sedgwick Memorial Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health from the American Public Health Association in 2019 and the University of Kentucky Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement in 2017. His greatest professional legacy, however, will be measured by the students he taught, mentored, and championed throughout his adult life. He was a wise old owl, loved and revered.
Scutch read voraciously and enjoyed an outing at Keeneland, a good cigar, and watching UK basketball. He was a devoted father, husband, and grandparent, doting on his grandkids and entertaining his son's buddies at pool parties where he was known as "the Commissioner" of pool baseball.
A celebration of life will be held at the Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky on June 22, 2022, beginning at 4:30 p.m. After the ceremony will be an opportunity to tell tales tall and true about the character known as Scutch.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that contributions be the Eastern Kentucky University Scutchfield Endowment Scholarship Fund, UK College of Public Health, or the University of Kentucky Opera Department.