Scott McCormick

Scott R. McCormick, 61, of Clarion passed away unexpectedly Saturday, June 26, 2021 in his home.

Funeral services for Scott McCormick will be held at 6:00 PM on Thursday, July 1, 2021, at Ewing Funeral Home, 1801 Central Avenue East in Clarion, with Pastor Bill Kem officiating.

Visitation will be held Thursday from 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM at the funeral home prior to the funeral service.

Scott Russell McCormick, the son of Dean and Ruth (Soren) McCormick was born on August 12, 1959 in Clarion, Iowa. Scott grew up outside of Clarion at his home on the family farm with his older brother and sister Rick and Christi. There were a lot of responsibilities growing up on the farm. After the school day you would come home, change your clothes and start your daily chores. It has been said that Dean may have cut the TV cord a time or two after catching the kids watching TV instead of doing chores. Scott joined his siblings in 4H and took great pride in showing livestock at the fair. Rick and Christi showed the brown swiss milking cows and Scott showed the “whitest” sheep around. Christi recalled a time where some trees on the new property needed to be trimmed and Scott was tasked with this project. Scott took the chainsaw and climbed one of the trees to get started. As Scott was trimming some branches the chainsaw slipped and cut his leg. Scott climbed down, made it to the car and drove himself to the hospital. Needless to say he still had to go back later and finish the job. Scott also liked to tear things apart and put them back together to see how they worked. His siblings said he did this “all the time.” What started as a boy being curious later turned into a lifelong career.

Scott graduated from Clarion High School in 1977. After high school, Scott attended Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to be an automotive technician. After college, Scott returned home to Clarion and started his 40 plus year career in automotive repair.

Scott and Linda met in high school and became the best of friends. The type of friends that were content driving around on gravel roads while listening to music. Scott came home every weekend from college to spend time with Linda and his friends, but it wasn’t until he came back to Clarion for good that he asked Linda to be his wife. Scott married Linda Marie Ott on January 10, 1981 at the First United Methodist Church in Clarion. Scott and Linda’s friends pooled together enough money so they could enjoy a short honeymoon in Fort Dodge, Iowa. They even splurged and got them some wine and champagne to celebrate. Scott and Linda brought two children into their loving home, Patrick Russell and Katie Marie.

Scott’s greatest blessing in life was his family and friends. Scott took great pride in helping others. You learn that through conversations with his family, friends, and his customers. If anyone needed his help he was right there willing to lend a hand.

Pat recalls several favorite memories and time spent with his Dad. For Father’s Day one year, Pat and Scott rode their motorcycles to Newton, Iowa to the races. It rained all the way there and back but they still managed to have a great time together even with the nasty sunburn they acquired at the races and the near miss with a tornado in Blairsburg. They also took several weekend trips to Okoboji for motorcycle rallies. They stopped at a restaurant on the way and noticed on the menu that you could get a 27 ounce t-bone steak. They both looked at each other and agreed they would give it a shot. They managed to polish off the steak, the potato and some beers. Pat also spent four-five years going to work with his Dad. He was fortunate to work alongside him at Wright County Motors. Pat and Scott made many lasting memories working together after taking over the family farm.

Katie also recalls several favorite memories. Katie was a Daddy’s girl and her Dad was her best friend but when her son Wyatt was born, Katie says that Scott liked Wyatt better. Katie laughs about this and cherishes the relationship they had. Katie loved the time she spent with her Dad going to Arkansas, exploring the caves, gardening, and their Saturday morning grocery shopping trips. Another thing they loved to do together is try and come up with different meal ideas. Katie will forever be grateful for the time they spent together.

In November of 2013, Wyatt Scott came into this world and from that point forward, Papa had a buddy for life. Scott spent all the time he could with Wyatt. He would take Wyatt to different stores to get tractors for him to play with. Wyatt, being so young, didn’t realize what kind of reaction Papa would have when he picked out a green John Deere tractor because Case IH tractors are what is preferred in this family. Scott cringed at the thought but because he was the best Papa around so he bought it anyway. Scott ended up buying a few more John Deere tractors but as Wyatt got older he did start to tease him about his choice in tractors. Scott and Wyatt would enjoy afternoons at the farm riding the 4 wheeler, shooting off fireworks around the 4th of July and eating their Shellsburg Colby Jack cheese together. A couple of years ago Wyatt got to enjoy one of Scott’s favorite things. Scott took Wyatt to the races in Joliet for a weekend getaway, a memory that Wyatt will get to have with him forever. A memory that Wyatt recalls is the trip to Arkansas that Scott, Katie and Wyatt took. Wyatt says the best part about the trip was getting to swim at the hotel.

For many years, Scott enjoyed the trips he took to Joliet, Illinois with Linda and good friends Steve and Mary Evans to watch the drag races. In Linda’s opinion, she and Mary were the best back seat drivers around and they may not have made it anywhere if it weren't for the two of them. Steve really wanted to race on the big track in Joliet but he stuck to racing in Humboldt with Scott as his crew chief. For those of you that don’t know Scott, he loved his motorcycles. His most recent motorcycle was a Victory Cross Country. Scott took many motorcycle trips to see his sister Christi and brother-in-law Harold in Arkansas. Scott enjoyed riding and looking at the scenery. Scott would take off for afternoon rides by himself or take the bike to work on nice days. He also spent time riding with Pat when he had his own motorcycle or Steve and Mary. The past few years, Scott has enjoyed the salmon fishing trips he took with his friend Kevin in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In recent years Scott has turned his garage into a place for family and friends to gather, drink beer and listen to Hair Nation. Scott and Linda’s good friend Barb would often send a text that simply said “garage?” Scott and Linda would reply “yep” and Barb would be over. Many memories were made socializing and drinking beer in the garage with family and friends.

Scott is survived by his wife of 40 years, Linda of Clarion; son Patrick of Clarion and girlfriend Nikki McMurray of Belmond; daughter Katie of Clarion; grandchildren Wyatt, Addison, Hutchison and Nevi of Clarion and Belmond; brother Rick (Nancy) McCormick of Lawrence, Kansas; sister Christi (Harold) Patterson of Yellville, Arkansas; brothers-in-law Bob (Kim) Ott of Clarion and Dan Ott of Clarion; nieces and nephews Matt (Roberta) McCormick and their son of New Mexico, Tony McCormick of California, Karen (John) Watkins and children of Kansas, Jimmy (Beth) Ott and children of Goldfield, IA, Jerri (Lance Gobeli) Ott and children of Clarion, IA; along with many other beloved family members and friends.

Scott is preceded in death by his parents Dean and Ruth McCormick; parents-in-law Junior and Millie Ott; great niece Payton Millie Ott, and many other relatives and friends who are dearly missed.

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