W. Scott Overton

July 10, 2012 8:00 am

Oct. 3, 1925 — July 2, 2012

Scott Overton, 86, of Philomath died peacefully at 7 in the morning on July 2, 2012. In the preceding hours, the nearly full moon shone through the window onto his bed as family members gathered in love.

Walter Scott Overton Jr. was born on Oct. 3, 1925, in Farmville, Va., to Walter Scott and Alice Mottley Overton. Scott grew up with his sister, Dorothy, in the small town during the Depression, carrying ice from the icehouse, milking the family cow, working in his father’s hardware store and tobacco fields of kinfolk, and exploring, fishing and hunting in the nearby fields and woods.

After graduating from high school at age 16, Scott attended a partial year at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech) before entering the Army in 1943. Scott served as a scout and automatic rifleman with the 331st regiment of the 83d infantry division in the last two campaigns in the European Theatre, including the Battle of the Bulge and spearheading toward Berlin. He received numerous honors, most notably the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

In the years before, during and soon after the war, Scott was an enthusiastic and talented jitterbugger, enjoying every possible opportunity to attend the dances of the great swing bands of the era. After leaving the service, he returned to VPI, graduating in 1950 with a master of science degree in forestry and wildlife management.

Scott worked for several years as a wildlife biologist for the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission. Part of his job was to perform census counts of quail, assisted by his English setters. Taking his data to the IBM office in Jacksonville to be tabulated, Scott met Joann Price, a beautiful young secretary.

Jo was intrigued by this bearded, iconoclastic wild man with bright blue eyes who lived with his bird dogs in a remote cabin. Scott and Jo married in 1955, and gave birth to their first child, Deborah Lea, the following winter.

In 1958 the family moved to Raleigh, N.C., where Scott studied for his doctorate in statistics at North Carolina State University, and where they welcomed the birth of Michael. When Scott accepted a position in the Biometrics Department at Emory University, he and Jo moved their family to Atlanta, Ga., where their youngest son, Jake, was born.

Scott became a professor of forestry and statistics at Oregon State University in 1965. Eager to experience the adventure and natural beauty of Oregon, Scott and Jo drove their three young children and two horses across the country from Atlanta to Corvallis.

Shortly after moving to Oregon, Scott and Jo bought the land of their dreams in the foothills of the Coast Range southwest of Philomath. Here they built roads, fences, a barn and their house, and raised Christmas trees, fruit trees, timber, horses, dogs and other assorted animals.

Scott’s academic career spanned a broad range of topics, including wildlife, forestry, statistics, ecology, conservation and environmental issues. He was known for his brilliance, vision and uncompromising approach. A controversial paper in the early 1970s presaged the later debates on management of old-growth forests.

He was a pioneer in the application of hierarchy theory to ecosystem theory and modeling. His statistical specialty was sampling theory and design, with applications to resource and environmental issues and monitoring programs.

Dedicated to our human responsibility to care for our planet, Scott was involved in the first Earth Day at OSU in 1970; mentored graduate students; taught classes; developed forest-use modeling systems; conducted research; and published numerous scientific papers. He was motivated by the deep desire to help forge a more sustainable relationship between humans and the natural environment.

Voracious reader and avid scholar of a broad multitude of subjects, Scott was a scientist with the soul of a poet and artist, and an inspiration to his children and students, in whom he ignited intellectual curiosity for the joys and mysteries of life. Passionate lover of nature and the outdoors, Scott especially enjoyed bird hunting with his Cesky Fouseks — a breed of pointing dogs from the Czech Republic.

Until very recently, “Papa Scott” grew an enormous garden, taking special pride in sharing his corn, kale, pumpkins and hot peppers with appreciative family members and friends.

A loyal wrestling fan, Scott followed and supported the OSU wrestling program since the 1960s. Scott valued his friendship with coaches and wrestlers, and he and Jo frequently hosted wrestlers from visiting programs at their home. In his last few years, Scott had limited ability to see the matches but still enjoyed attending, often assisted with a play-by-play description provided by Jo, their son Mike, or a friend.

The quote “It’s Dogged as Does It,” framed on the wall of Scott’s den, exemplified Scott’s attribute of persevering in tough times. After losing most of his eyesight 10 years ago, Scott continued to study a wide variety of subjects, thanks to books on tape from Oregon Talking Book and Braille Services, and regularly drove his tractor to mow and rototill his fields and garden.

Although dementia took a nasty toll on Scott’s last two years, he maintained through his final days an ironic sense of humor, a remarkable vocabulary and a tenacious spirit.

Scott is survived by his courageous and loving wife, Jo; his children and their spouses, Lea Houston Bayles (David Paul Bayles), Mike Overton (Marjie) and Jake Overton (Kim Young); grandchildren Marisa Haven (Scott Haven), Emily and Juliana Houston, Olivia and Tyler Overton, and Orion and Canyon Overton; great-grandson, Charlie Haven; niece, Dee Nelms; and nephew, Jeff Hankins.

Scott’s family extends deep gratitude to P.S. We Love Seniors Adult Foster Home, Benton Hospice Service and Scott’s doctor, Robin Paige-Echols, M.D.

An informal celebration of life is set for 3 to 4:30 Sunday, July 15, at the Overton Farm. For directions and details, please email lea@leabayles.com. Those unable to attend are invited to send memories and condolences to jakeoverton@gmail.com. A collection of perspectives, stories and pictures of Scott’s life will be compiled.

For those wishing to make contributions in Scott’s honor, the family requests they consider Benton Hospice Service, 2350 N.W. Professional Drive, Corvallis, OR 97330; Greenbelt Land Trust, P.O. Box 1721, Corvallis, OR 97339; the Nature Conservancy, 821 S.E. 14th Ave., Portland, OR 97214; or Talking Book and Braille Services, Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. N.E., Salem, OR 97301-3950.