Scott Arthur Humburg

Scott Arthur Humburg was born on November 12, 1955 to Marjorie and Frank Robert “Bob” Humburg. He spent his early childhood in Naperville, Illinois, where he legendarily walked to school barefoot and naked in the snow, uphill both ways, before moving to the much more temperate and flat Fullerton, California with his younger siblings, Lori and Mark. During his childhood, he enjoyed a close relationship with his grandparents, which impacted his interests for the rest of his life. In particular, he remembered most clearly working in his grandfather’s woodshop. Missing “Freezeland,” Scott would often write letters back to Illinois, keeping his grandparents apprised of his own woodcraft projects. Early road trips with his grandparents also cultivated in him a love of the Great Outdoors. He always said one of the chief regrets of his childhood was turning down a road trip with them along the Great Alaskan Highway.

He attended three schools in Illinois and then, in Fullerton, Beechwood Elementary, Ladera Vista Junior High, and Troy High School, leaving enough of an educational impression that at least one of his future children got yelled at by a former teacher and called Scott’s name. He was accepted into Georgetown University for Business, but was unable to attend due to a lack of financial support. Instead, after graduating in 1973, he sold Enterprise Motor Homes until he opted to become a camp counselor in Angelus Oaks, mainly working at Camp Ta Ta Pochon and Camp Edwards for the YMCA. Here, he met such legends as “Fryin’ Brian,” practiced future cool dad skills like braiding six-strand lanyards, cracked a dozen eggs in one hand (allegedly), and drove “The Animal” through the back trails of the San Bernardino National Forest. After falling in love with a group of special needs children who came through his camp, he elected to try his hand at education, moving to become a teacher’s aide.

At the Speech and Language Development Center (SLDC), he would eventually work with the woman who would become his future wife and the love of his life, Janet. She elected to keep dating him even though an outing in “The Animal” left her with a cold for several weeks. His job as a teacher’s aide didn’t last, and Scott soon moved from being temporary holiday help at Karl’s Toys to becoming a manager there. He then got his start in construction by overseeing the building of new toy stores. Although his working relationship with Jan ended when they both were laid off from SLDC, his romantic relationship with her blossomed into what would become a 47 year-long marriage.

Scott and Jan tied the knot on an exceptionally rainy day in January of 1977, where family friend Al Rado had to drive up the back church stairs to keep the bride dry (and Scott insisted on wearing a very on trend white suit with blue tip frills).

In 1988 he established his general contracting business, Humburg & Associates, a company he would work at until he retired in May 2023. Every single one of his children has stories of priming massive piles of wood for various job sites and being a carpool buddy as Scott drove across Southern California from bid to bid. His business venture also allowed his entire family to train to effortlessly spot dry rot on a piece of fascia three floors up and to start a family game that involved quibbling over how difficult various beams might be to replace.

Truly, though, the pride and joy of Scott’s life was his family.

He was an exceptional dad to Megan, Michael, Allyson, and Bryan, and later a wonderful grandfather to Ashlynn, Jeffrey, Patrick, Elise, and Thomas. Family vacations were full of trips in the family trailer, including inner tubing down the Virgin River in Zion National Park, hiking around Mesa Verde, hitching a ride on Ft. Bragg’s Skunk Train, sitting under the redwoods of Henry Cowell, telling the never-ending story of “Dead Man’s Curve” and “The Haunted Popcorn Machine” around the fire, having pancake flipping contests with Denny, and camping out on Doheny Beach. There were many sledding hill related injuries, arguments over who would be forced to sleep in the trundle bed, and pontoon adventures during stays at the family cabin in Big Bear. Everyone also has memories of Dad flying a Cessna over to Catalina Island (always in strict VFR conditions, promise!) to get a birthday buffalo burger. Additionally, Scott made efforts to give back to his community and his children’s schools. He built boxes for elementary school gardens, resurfaced Formica on junior high science tables, and built instrument stands for bands. Scott was the kind of dad who woke everyone up with the world’s worst rendition of “Morning Has Broken” (His singing voice—an unfortunate amalgamation of cats in heat and nails on a chalkboard—likely broke morning. Maybe irreparably.), and celebrated every birthday with his own equally ear splitting and horrendous rendition of the birthday song. He also had a handmade wooden rocking horse, made in his woodshop, for each grandchild’s first birthday and was every kid’s favorite duck-horsey.

In his later years, his favorite place to be was in his garage, spewing sawdust, and working with his hands. He and Jan also enjoyed going out to Angels Baseball games and hanging out in the Knothole. They were both regulars in the Fullerton dining scene and they befriended an impressive array of servers and restaurant owners across several culinary categories.

Scott was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2018, and the community he had taken such pains to take care of all his life rallied around to help him, in turn, even as he steadily declined. He moved to Silverado Beach Cities in Redondo Beach for full-time memory care and died, peacefully in his sleep, after a day of being surrounded by his entire family on January 15th, 2025.

Scott will be remembered for his generosity of spirit, his stubborn perseverance, and his larger than life personality. He leaves behind him a family whom he loved immensely and who is heartbroken to have lost him all too soon. We all hope he is finally enjoying the retirement he wanted, driving his big ol’ motorhome through the sky and, maybe, finally getting to go to Australia.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Scott’s name to directly support frontotemporal dementia research. Donations can be made at the following site: https://brainchemistrylabs.org/make-a-difference

Checks can also be sent to:

Brain Chemistry Labs

PO Box 3464

Jackson, WY 83001