John P. Scott

After a courageous four-year health battle, fought with his customary and unfailing love, faith, patience and good humor, John Scott was richly rewarded and welcomed to Heaven on Tuesday, the 1st of July 2025. John was born in Beaumont, Texas, and was a first-generation American, extremely proud of his parents and his Irish roots and heritage. He was a faithful and loving husband, father, grandfather and friend, an outstanding attorney, a pretty good golfer, a very poor fisherman, and a wannabe guitar player.

John attended Beaumont St. Anne Catholic School and Forest Park High School, where he lettered in Basketball. He very thoroughly enjoyed his four years at the University of Texas, where he was a proud member of Sigma Phi Epsilon (Chapter President) and the Texas Cowboys, and immersed himself deeply in UT football. He continued to bleed orange and remain passionate about UT football for the rest of his days. In 1974, he began his legal education at South Texas College of Law, and completed his legal education as a Cum Laude graduate at the University of Houston College of Law, where he was a member of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and the Order of The Barons.

John was proud to begin his long and successful legal career at Andrews & Kurth in Houston, where he received invaluable mentorship and experience and made numerous lifelong friends. In 1993, he and a group of fellow AK litigators founded Cruse, Scott, Henderson & Allen, a specialty litigation firm. Over the years, the firm name changed several times as it evolved, and John retired from Scott, Clawater & Houston in 2021. His partners are among his best friends, and he deeply missed them and the co-workers with whom he worked and mentored over the years.

John was an excellent lawyer, always deeply immersed in the details of every case, and he often made great friends on both sides of the courtroom and mediation table. He was proud to be recognized by his peers and elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABODA). He was Board Certified in Personal Injury Law, for which he was recognized as a Super Lawyer numerous times. He was admitted to practice in the Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern Districts of Texas, as well as the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was a member of the Bar Associations for Texas and Houston (Fellow).

John was a long-time member of the Houston Country Club, where he made so many lifelong and best friends. He was a former member of the Board of Directors, and an active member of the Men’s Golf Association. He never made a hole in one, but he was happy to play often with great friends and win a few trophies. He was a faithful patron of the Red Room, where he counted as his close friends both the club members and the wonderful members of the staff who put up with them. Over the last four years, he was also blessed by the time spent with and love shown by the boys in what came to be known as “Johnny’s Good Time Lunch Bunch.”

John met the love of his life, a tiny firecracker from the big city of Houston named Kathy, on a blind date in the Fall of 1975, and began what would become an almost fifty-year love story. She was the love of his life and he was hers. They graduated from UT together, moved to Houston and attended law school together, and made Houston their home where they raised their family. He loved their life together.

His favorite pastime was sitting with Kathy on the patio, listening to music, with a glass of red wine in hand. His needs were simple, and he always said that he would go anywhere as long as it had two things – air conditioning and cable TV.

John was incredibly proud of Elyse, Molly and Patrick, enjoyed them beyond measure, and considered them and Kathy as his best friends. His family will forever treasure countless nights of stories and laughter around the dinner table (usually in the company of more red wine), his witty and hilarious story-telling abilities, and his numerous and oft-repeated catch phrases, as well as his dependability, punctuality, and endless concern for his loved ones - rarely the disciplinarian, most often the “yes-man.”

His demeanor was always calm, and his family always felt loved, cherished and taken care of. His generosity knew no bounds. One of John’s greatest joys was spending time with his grandchildren, who lovingly called him “Buff.” One of his favorite sayings was, “The only thing in life that is not overrated is being a grandparent,” and he found this to be absolutely true.

John was a humble and self-made man of integrity who treasured his friends and adored his family. His strong faith and absolute trust in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior sustained him and made him the man that he was. He was aware of and so thankful for every single one of God’s blessings that make up his life story.

He was preceded in death by his parents, May and Jack Scott; his brother, Martin Scott; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Anne and Bill Irish; and his brother-in-law, John Irish.

Left to cherish his memory and example are his loving wife of forty-six years, Kathy (Irish) Scott; his treasured children, Elyse Hatch and husband Campbell, Molly Ellerman and husband John, and Patrick Scott; and his adored grandchildren, Lucy, Billy and Houston Hatch, and Jack, Lila, and Charlie Ellerman. He is also survived by his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Teresa and Bill Irish; sister-in-law, Anne Britton Irish; and numerous cousins in Beaumont, England, and Ireland.

The family would like to thank Dr. Paul E. Schulz of the McGovern Medical School for his time, care, and superlative guidance throughout our long journey with John. They would also like to graciously thank the staff and wonderful caregivers at The Villas at Sycamore Creek Ranch in the Heights for their unfailing loving care for John and the entire family during John’s time with them, and the staff of Pax Et Vita Hospice for their excellent care of John in his final days.

Finally, from the family: “Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to our friends and family who have supported us, sustained us, entertained us and covered us in prayers over the last four and a half years – you have brought us so much joy, and we don’t know where we would be without you. “

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Wednesday, the 9th of July, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A funeral service is to be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Thursday, the 10th of July, at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent Bagby Parish Hall.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family request with gratitude that donations be made to Sunshine Kids, a charity John was most fond of at www.sunshinekids.org or the charity of your choice.

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