Mary Scott

We are thankful for the long and healthy life of Mary Jo Buckingham Scott, the center of our family universe. She will be remembered as a wise and loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, a gifted teacher, a true friend and a partner you'd want on your side of the tennis net. Mary Jo was born March 8, 1922 in Parsons, Kansas and raised in Dodge City. She was a daughter of Mary Jane and Alfred Roy Buckingham. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was managing editor of the Dodge City Globe. She credits her parents for inspiring a lifelong love of tennis, politics, reading and making the world a better place. Her brother Rob Roy Buckingham went on to work for the New York Times and traveled frequently to Casper where he often sat in on news meetings at the Casper Star-Tribune. Her sister Shirley Sue Buckingham was one of the first female graduates from Harvard Medical School. Mary Jo married her high school sweetheart, Derb Scott August 14, 1942. Together they moved to Brooklyn, NY, where he served as a Navy test pilot and they began their family. She attended University of Chicago, Barnard College and eventually finished her history degree at Washburn University after the war. Derb became a land man in the oil business. They settled in Evansville, Indiana and then Mt. Vernon, Illinois. They moved with the oil business to Casper in 1959 and worked with many other young families to build Casper into the strong community it is today. When there was a shortage of teachers Mary Jo went back to school to get a teaching degree. Beginning in 1968, she taught for many years at Roosevelt and then at North Casper elementary schools, where she was a favorite of many her students. She was a natural teacher and role model in every aspect of her life. Derb and Mary Jo modeled genuine, constant, nonjudgmental curiosity. They created a welcoming home and demonstrated the value of having friends of all ages and interests. Respect was not reserved only for people of the same opinion nor was it reserved for grownups. Children were encouraged to enter debates and discussions and were rewarded with affectionate challenge. There were many golfing and skiing family vacations and every grandchild was treated to a "12-year-old" trip, now a source of fond memories. Family dinners and holidays routinely included charades, which was taken to new levels by the grandchildren trying to stump her. She amazed everyone by correctly guessing the movie, "TRON." She was a voracious reader. If you mentioned a book to her, it was common for her to have read it before you met again. All her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren spent time reading with her, playing puzzles or learning math with oyster crackers. She championed the English language. Mary Jo and Derb contributed significantly to the growth of tennis in Casper and enjoyed their tennis friends, tournaments and travel together. After Derb's death in 1980 Mary Jo continued to volunteer, play and compete nationally well into her 80s. She traveled to each of the grand slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris and New York but her favorite was Wimbledon, which she attended several times. Mary Jo was active, engaged and considerate of those around her until the final moment of her life. She reminded us this week that there was plenty of love to go around. Thanks to excellent home hospice care she was surrounded by family and at home as chronic leukemia finally took her life. She was preceded in death by her husband, Derbert Leon Scott, her sister Shirley Sue Buckingham, her brother Rob Roy Buckingham and her son-in-law Robert Zuchowski. She is survived by her five children, John Buckingham Scott (Kathleen), Rebecca Scott Zuchowski, Robert Todd Scott, Richard Kent Scott and Barbara Scott Rea (Tom), ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. At her request there will be no services. Our family would like to thank Rocky Mountain Oncology for years of excellent care. We will be forever thankful to Frontier Home Health and Hospice for making this natural transition amazingly peaceful for our entire family. Tax-deductible donations can be made to Friends of Hospice, 907 N Poplar St. Suite 153, Casper, Wyoming 82601 to help provide hospice care and other needed end-of-life assistance to families with limited resources.