John Kent Scales

My name is Mike Nolen. John Scales was my best friend.

How did we meet? We met at a social gathering in Boston in the early 60’s, so our friendship has extended approximately 57 years.

At the outset, we got together for lunch in Boston. I immediately got to know probably the most intelligent person I ever met. Om top of that, he was such fun to be with.

John’s first employer was Sullivan and Worcester, a prominent law firm in Boston. He handled railroad cases which he felt were somewhat tedious and so was open to other applications of the law.

At that time, John was actively involved in handling the Senate campaign for Senator Brook of Massachusetts. The Senator won that Senate seat and that began John’s involvement with politics.

I told John that it was obvious he was drawn to the political process. I urged him to move to Washington DC to further his legal career.

Voila! Then John began the senior legal counsel for The Peace Corps Worldwide, The Agency for international Development, aide to Senator Javits of New York, The Rebuild LA Program after the riots in LA. He had enormous responsibilities and carried them out seamlessly.

Our friendship was impressive. It was intellectually solid, and the door was always open for humor. When one of us was down, the other scooped the other up to put things back together again. John was so brilliant that his advice was flawless.

Over the past 57 years there were countless hilarious stories – too many to tell here.

I miss John daily when I think of all the jokes we would play on each other.

John remains a timeless and religious soul. He accepted all people that came his way.

Godspeed JKS – you are one of a kind.