Gary Steven Scott

Gary Steven Scott passed away October 21, 2016, at the Evergreen Hospice Center, from interstitial lung disease.  He was 60.

Born January 1, 1956 in Lancaster, Wisconsin, he was the middle child of Joyce and Robert Scott who moved to Seattle in 1962.

As a youth, Gary was involved with Boy Scouts, Baseball and joined the Sea Cadets, earning the Cadet of the Year award in 1973.

The family settled in Kirkland in 1974 where Gary attended Lake Washington High School and landed his first job at the Arctic Circle making $1.80 per hour and transferred to Salt Lake City for a time.  He later primarily worked making printed circuit boards.  Additionally, he sold Christmas trees, was a volunteer Kirkland Fire Fighter and EMT, sold and serviced gaming equipment and supplies.  In 2003 he retired from Bingo for Kids’ Causes as Pull Tab manager, due to rheumatoid arthritis.

An active, adrenaline junkie, Gary made his first parachute jump in 1976 and began his life-long love of racing.  He went on to race Figure 8 Stock Cars, Super Stocks at Evergreen and the Winston West Series and later became involved with Hydroplane Racing, working with several teams, the last being the Miss DiJulio.  He loved being on the road and the opportunity to work with his teammates in Hawaii, Qatar, Madison and Detroit.

Gary married his wife of 36 years, Debbie Mangan, and the couple had two children, Nicholas Sinclair and Jillian Joyce.  Their home always included various pets and people with Gary cooking delicious meals for family and friends.  He enjoyed tending the garden planting string bean forts and sunflower walls and pumpkins for all the kid’s friends. He loved the holidays and always had the Christmas lights on the house so the kids would see them lit coming home from Thanksgiving festivities.  There was always a supply of fireworks for Fourth of July and his traditional “lighting of the Christmas tree” to ring in the new year.

Gary fractured his ankle at the age of 11, had his hip replaced at the age of 15, and had both feet run over by a car.  He had countless surgeries to repair the damage from his disease and fought dangerous infections resulting from the remedies.  Despite the numerous injuries, illnesses and surgeries that Gary endured over his lifetime, he was strong willed and determined to continue to enjoy the things and people that he loved.

Gary is survived by his mother, Joyce Scott of Spokane, sister Deborah Scott of Duvall, brother Kelly and wife Kadee Scott of Spokane, his wife Debbie and their two children Nick and Jill Scott all of Kirkland.

Gary was preceded in death by his father, Bob.

Services were held Thursday November 3rd at the Hydroplane and Race Boat Museum in Kent, Wash.