Winfield Scott Downs, Jr.

Winfield Scott Downs, Jr. died on May 2, 2019. He was born on September 13, 1932 in Cortland, NY to Esther Porter Alley Downs and Winfield Scott Albertson Downs. The family lived in Glen Rock and later in Ridgewood, NJ.

Scott graduated from Ridgewood High School in 1950, and Davidson College in Davidson, NC in 1954. He received his Bachelor of Science degree with Special Attainments in Chemistry. Following graduate study, he was awarded a Master of Arts in Teaching from Vanderbilt University in 1955.

Scott married Elizabeth June Hurst of Winchester, Virginia on March 19, 1955. They are the parents of two sons: Winfield Scott Downs, III and Bruce Hurst Downs.

Scott and Elizabeth lived in Nashville, TN, Anniston, AL and then Bloomfield, NJ as Scott fulfilled his ROTC commission in the United States Army.

In 1957 Scott began his career with IBM as a computer programmer in Military Products, later Federal Systems Division. It soon became apparent that IBM stood for “I’ve Been Moved,” and Scott and Elizabeth moved very frequently—to New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Virginia and Maryland. There they eventually built “Windridge,” a beautiful country home and settled down for almost 30 years.

Scott was invited into management at IBM but preferred to remain a programmer. His last years before retirement were spent travelling to selected cities in the United States to set up Business Advisory Councils. Under IBM’s guidance, local business executives worked together to offer an opportunity for the education of severely handicapped people to become employable as computer programmers. IBM provided the model and the equipment.

In 1991 Scott retired from IBM and began a very satisfying volunteer career, teaching briefly at Montgomery College in Maryland before going to work for the National Zoo. There he programmed and maintained pertinent information on each of the trees in the zoo. He also worked with Montgomery Hospice in Maryland to establish and maintain their programming systems.

In 2006 Scott and Elizabeth moved to Birmingham, AL to be near their son, Bruce. Scott worked for Bruce in his accounting firm until moving with Elizabeth into an apartment at Kirkwood by the River, a retirement home in Birmingham.

Scott is survived by his wife Elizabeth, their two sons Scott (Erica) and Bruce (Sallie), grandchildren Alexandra, Annabel and Savannah Downs, Josh and Jake (Stephanie) Datnoff, Matthew (Gretchen) Bradley, and great grandchildren Lucy and David Datnoff. Scott III and his wife Erica live in England. Bruce and his wife Sallie continue to live in Birmingham.

The body will be cremated and the ashes scattered directly into the ground around the rough-hewn cross in the memorial garden of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham. A memorial service and the scattering of ashes will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 10 at St. Stephens.