William M Scott

William McKinley “Bill” Scott, Jr., 88, passed away December 13th, 2015 at his home in Conway, Arkansas.

Bill was born July 17, 1927, in Guthrie, Oklahoma to the late William McKinley Scott, Sr. and Hazel Strider Scott. Bill was preceded in death by his three brothers, Clifford, Ronnie and J.T. Scott, and his grandson Scott Hicks. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Rosemary Lynn Scott, daughter Karen Hicks (Jim) of Conway, and sons Kirk Scott of Charlotte, North Carolina, William “Mark” Scott (Suzanne) of Washington D.C., and Brian Scott(Shawn) of Morgan, Texas. He is survived by six grandchildren, Ryan, Stephen, and Justin Hicks of Conway, Sidney and Amelia Scott of Washington D.C. and Heather Larsen ( Daniel) of Oregon, and three great-grandchildren, Ani, Leni, and Loki Larsen.

Despite being a child of the Great Depression who lost both his parents by the time he was 8 years old, Bill went on to become a successful business executive and entrepreneur. After high school, Bill served in the Navy aboard USS Kalinin Bay until the end of War World II. After his service, he graduated from the University of Oklahoma. He then served in the Army as a paratrooper during the Korean Conflict. After working with Procter and Gamble, he was hired by Sav-A-Stop, Inc., a company that specialized in the sales and merchandising of non-food products, including health and beauty aids in grocery/food stores nationally. As the company grew to become a publicly listed company, Bill rose to the position of Senior Vice President and ran company divisions, initially based out of Jacksonville, Florida and then Amarillo, Texas. After 25 years of service with Sav-A-Stop, he retired and began a new career in the restaurant field. He was a founder and co-owner of a number of seafood restaurants still in operation today in the states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Bill was a devoted husband, father and grandfather throughout his life. He never knew a stranger, and is best remembered as someone who was always positive and encouraging no matter what the situation. Bill especially enjoyed his Texas Tech Red Raider football games and western novels.

The funeral will be held at 10:00 am Thursday at Griffin-Leggett Funeral Home in Conway , AR. Interment will follow in Quitman, AR. Pall Bearers will be Brian, Mark, and Kirk Scott, and Ryan, Stephen, and Justin Hicks. You may sign Bill’s on-line guestbook at www.griffinleggettconway.com