He is survived by mother, Susan, of Columbia; father Gene, of Nixa; sister, Carrie (Braselton) Griffith-Savage (John Savage) of Columbia; nephews, Jacob Griffith and Aleksandr Savage; uncle Gregory (Lea Ann) Gatzemeyer, known to the family as Pat; aunts Judy Darwin and Reggie Wilhite; and cousins: Gavin, Grant, and Grady Gatzemeyer, Kate Davis, Tammy Carlton, Wendy McKinney, and Penny Braselton. He is also survived by Maynard, Raven, Roberta and his beloved Sinister, members of his automotive family.
Always an animal lover he adopted Gustav (Gus) Earl Ray, an incredibly smart, black purebred German Shepard in 2004. Gus, a faithful and protective companion, preceded him in death in 2015.
Scott was a 1999 graduate of David H. Hickman High School and attended University of Missouri-Columbia. He worked at Nowell’s, MegaMarket, and ACT. He moved as a child to Columbia, Missouri but always considered Columbus, Georgia his home and missed his life there.
Scott was a lifelong Harley-Davidson motorcycle enthusiast. He also held an appreciation for unique and very expensive knives and guns. He shared that interest with his nephews and loved buying them scary weapons for various occasions through the years, much to his sister’s chagrin. Scott worked hard and perfected the art of barbecue, celebrating family events with the tastiest pork steak known to man. He enjoyed taking long drives without a destination on sunny days. He was a story-teller by nature and although he would tell you he didn’t like people he connected with them easily by offering a friendly smile, a funny observation, or just asking about their day. Scott showed tremendous strength and resilience, suffering through many years rife with medical challenges and chronic pain. Through his many hospital and care center stays he met many wonderful people who showed him kindness and compassion. His mother and sister offer our appreciation to all who helped in Scott’s care and developed sincere friendships with him along the way. He was polite in public and often referred to as a “sweetheart,” but those who knew him well know he also had a sarcastic, perverted sense of humor that relied heavily on creatively thoughtful curse words. Flipping a middle finger was his instinctual response to seeing a camera and made a regular appearance during conversations, typically with a quick grin. While he was not much for sappiness or sentimentality he was fiercely loyal to those he cared about. He held special places in his heart for his grandpa, Earl Gatzemeyer, and his great-uncle, Ray Critchfield, and often reminisced about time spent with them. His ashes will be laid to rest by his grandparents at Englewood Cemetery in Clinton, Missouri.
Per Scott’s wishes, there will be no memorial service. His request to be cremated will be honored by Memorial Funeral Home. Please share any memories or stories you have of Scott here, his family would love to hear them.
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