David Scott Harlow

1932 - 2022

HARLOW, David Scott, 89, of Mechanicsville, Virginia, went to be with his Lord and Savior on August 21, 2022. Above all, an attentive and supportive husband to his beloved wife of 61 years, Grace Inskeep Harlow, and a loving father to his two children, Susan and David, Scott will be greatly missed by all those of his family and friends who were blessed to have known him.

Those who were so blessed knew Scott to be a man of considerable quiet intelligence, typically of few words but thoughtful ones. He was also a man of a gentle, wry wit, in which his family took delight throughout his life. Scott had a keen interest in history, particularly that of (as he never failed to call it) the War Between the States, of his native state and his hometown of Culpeper, Virginia, and of his family's genealogy. Few things afforded Scott more satisfaction than having the opportunity to share with interested family members that which he had come learn of such matters.

While well-educated and well-read, Scott was by no means bookish. Once a Boy Scout while growing up in Culpeper, Scott later became an adult leader of his son's Boy Scout troop in Mechanicsville, participating in hikes and overnight camping and canoeing trips. In his younger days, Scott had also been an accomplished Civil War relic hunter, merging his interest in history with his love of the outdoors, a pursuit which took him trekking across numerous former battlefield sites throughout Virginia, sometimes alone but often in the company of friends or, when they were old enough, his children. A man with an admirable capacity for hard work, only in the very last years of his life did Scott finally give up tending the backyard garden that had been a fixture of every home that he and Grace had shared together. To the end, Scott remained an avid observer of the birds and squirrels attracted to the backyard feeders that he faithfully maintained.

Gifted with both a musical spirit and a beautiful singing voice, Scott throughout his adult life dedicated that gift to glorifying God, singing in church choirs until his final years. To the very end, Scott never lost his interest in and love of sacred choral music.

A graduate of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, Scott went on to serve his country in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Sergeant. Following active duty service, Scott remained in the U.S. Army Reserves for a number of years. Prior to his retirement in 1995, Scott worked in juvenile corrections, first as a probation officer for the City of Richmond and later for the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice.

Scott is survived by his son, David Stuart Harlow of Germantown, Maryland; his daughter-in-law, Sharon Harlow; and his granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Brittany Ward and Joe Ward, of Grottoes, Virginia. Others for whom Scott remains in loving memory include his niece, Billie Raines of Ruther Glen, Virginia; and his grandniece, Edie Beleher of Richmond, Virginia; his niece, Kennon Raines of Hollywood, California; his niece, Donna Leigh Raines of Richmond, Virginia; his nephew, the Rev. J. Barton Weakley of Parksley, Virginia, Bart's wife, Vicki and their children, Christopher and Noel; his niece, Kim Weakley Thorne of Gloucester, Virginia and her children, Shane and Carson; and his son-in-law, Paul Haughton of King George, Virginia and Paul's wife, Jamie; and a number of cousins and friends.

In passing, Scott has now been reunited in the Lord with his beloved wife, Grace; and with his loving daughter, Susan Haughton.

One of five children of Edith Kilby Harlow and William Byers Harlow, Scott was born on November 21, 1932, in Culpeper, Virginia. Scott's four siblings preceded him in death, including his brother, Reginald "Buck" Harlow; and his three sisters, Beverly Raines of South Hill, Virginia, Joyce Payne of Walnut Creek, California and Kathleen Weakley of Seaford, Virginia.

Interment will take place in Signal Hill Memorial Park in Hanover, Virginia.