Mary Ellen Scott

Mary Ellen Scott was born in Hutchinson Kansas on March 14, 1926, the daughter of Robert Clair Anderson and Lois Ross Arnold. She was the oldest child, with two younger siblings, Robert and Carol Ann. She graduated with honors from Sterling College in 1947, where she was a champion debater, homecoming queen, and president of the student body, majoring in piano under the guidance of Leo Lawless, a student of the French pianist Robert Casadesus. Upon graduation, she married Harold Scott, a recent graduate of Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary and Sterling College alumnus, moving with him to his first congregation in Richmond, Kansas, where she was able to work as a piano teacher.
After the birth of her first child, Robert, she set aside her considerable talents in other areas to focus on the demanding job of raising a family, which consisted of three sons, Robert, Mark, and John. The family subsequently moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and Santa Ana, California, as Harold was called to new congregations, and finally to Pittsburgh in 1958, where he joined the faculty of Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) and later became the executive of Pittsburgh Presbytery. His career success owed much to Mary Ellen's quiet support and counsel behind the scenes as well as her active service to the institutions with which he was involved.
In the late 1960s, she earned a degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She then joined the staff of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary library, where she was supervisor of cataloging for many years, and briefly served as the library's interim director. After her retirement, she worked on a voluntary basis as the library's archivist. One of her most important accomplishments there was the organization and documentation of the records of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, a branch of the Presbyterian family dating back to the 17th century that had created Pittsburgh-Xenia seminary and merged into the much larger Presbyterian Church in 1958.
Following Harold's death in 1999, she moved to the Longwood at Oakmont retirement community in 2003, where she passed away after a long illness on March 31, 2022.
She was a loving and nurturing mother, a good and true friend, a talented musician, a skilled gardener, a wonderful cook, and a deeply believing Christian who was also accepting of the variety of human paths in this world. She faithfully served in the spiritual and community life of the churches where Harold was pastor, of Northmont Church in Pittsburgh, and finally, of Longwood at Oakmont, where she spent many happy years. Her kind and gentle disposition earned her the love of all who knew her. She will be greatly missed. She leaves behind her three sons, Robert, Mark, and John; their wives Daniela Baszkiewicz, Sarah Duncan, and Merla Cumbo; grandsons Przemyslaw Baszkiewicz and his wife Anna Chabiera, Paul Scott and his wife Caroline Knaby, and James Scott and his wife Celeste Tinari; and great grandchildren Karolina Baszkiewicz, Nina Scott, and Desmond Scott. She is also survived by her sister, Carol Ann Vernon of Lawrence, Kansas, and four nieces and nephews.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, May 7th, 2022 at 1:30 pm at the Longwood at Oakmont retirement community. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Mary Ellen's name to Longwood at Oakmont, which can be made through the Presbyterian Senior Care Foundation, 1215 Hulton Road, Oakmont PA 15139.
Arrangements entrusted to Simons Funeral Home, Inc. www.simonsfuneralhome.com