L. Scott Permesly, M.D.

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Dr. L. Scott Permesly, aged 74, on Friday June 28, 2019. Knowing Scott Permesly was a privilege. A man of warmth and wisdom, he was devoted to his wife Roxanne and his children, Breton and Dania, and to the numerous patients he guided through their experiences with endless kindness and insight.

Scott lived for knowledge; he always strove to share awareness and love of learning. Whether through literature, music, or science, he found beauty everywhere he looked — taking us all, by his side, on this journey of inner peace and strength through learning.

Scott was born in Chicago, Illinois to Dr. Harry and Suzanne Permesly. The family relocated to Hollywood, Florida when Scott was 7 years old, where the senior Dr. Permesly practiced general medicine. It was there that Scott developed his great love for the sea his avid, life-long passion for sailing.

Scott completed his education at Amherst College, Tufts Medical School, and Harvard University School of Medicine. A deeply gentle and introspective man, Scott decided to pursue psychiatry, focusing on the mind and its relationships . He spent five years at Harvard University completing both child psychiatry and adult psychiatry residencies serving his final year at Chief Resident. He was Board Certified in both specialties.

Scott met his wife of 43 years, Roxanne, at a Sunday mixer at the Harvard Club in Boston. So began their storybook romance, a life of shared work, interests, and deep devotion. After several years of both hospital and outpatient practice in Boston, Scott and Roxanne headed to Princeton where Scott served as the Princeton University psychiatrist. Life was enriched by numerous trips to New York City for music and dance while summers were spent on their sailboat in Newport and on the Chesapeake. Their son Breton was born in Princeton.

Missing the open seas, Scott and Roxanne relocated to Florida just in time for the birth of their daughter, Dania. In 1988, Sarasota became home, and what a home it was. Scott was on staff at local hospitals and served as Medical Director of Child Development Center, Ringling College of Art, and Eckerd Youth Foundation Wilderness Camps. In their joint practice, Scott and Roxanne guided children and adults and their families through their lives trying to share their own pattern of communication, mutual admiration, and devotion.

Scott’s warm and open manner and his gentle intellectualism allowed him to truly understand people and, with that understanding, to help them through their most difficult moments and celebrate their greatest successes. It was Scott’s out-patient practice that allowed him to share his training and his skills. And, yes, he was gifted at the ten-minute nap. Patients were known to run up to Dr. Permesly and hug him on the streets, such was the warmth and care he provided.

In addition to his passion for work, Scott was a true renaissance man. He loved music of all kinds, but especially classical. His children have fond memories of singing songs from “Einstein on the Beach” during long car rides. He was an avid reader of literature and a deep admirer of poetry. He played a strong game of tennis well into his older years and spent as much free time as possible sailing with his family on the waters of Sarasota.

Most of all, Scott loved being at home with his wife, enjoying dinner together and watching the beautiful Sarasota sunsets from their balcony. The kitchen was filled with aromas of varied cultures and gatherings of friends. The walls are covered with art and the shelves with books. Scott and Roxanne’s partnership was held in awe; their love was heaven sent and to there it will return.

Scott remained devoted to his medical practice when he was stricken with glioblastoma in 2018. Scott died peacefully one year later, listening to Bach’s Goldberg Variations and holding the hands of his devoted family.

Scott is survived by his wife Roxanne, his children Breton and Dania, their spouses Jennifer and Mathew, his granddaughter Morgan Jayne , and his sister Suzanne.

It was a life cut too short as he had so much more to give. Rather than flowers, hug your loved ones, listen to Bach, and take a ten-minute nap.