Every year he would set up an information table for the Medway Historical Society near the entrance of the Fair at New Boston and at other local events. He worked hard on the Medway Bicentennial displays and loved to tell folks about his town and its history.
Scott had a reverence for all things historical. When I lent him a Myers Coverlet for a display, he returned it in a sealed dust cover so I’d store it properly. Preservation mattered to him.
I always thought of the Suther brothers, Scott and his big brother Dave, as Medway’s dynamic duo. It seemed like they were involved with everything. If I needed to ask a question about Medway, I’d call Scott. And Scott was always giving me a heads up about something going on in the community that I needed to cover.
Dave told me that the day before Scott passed away his brother had ordered flowers to be delivered to their Mother for her 91st birthday. They were delivered on March 2, after he passed. Even when he didn’t feel well, Scott was a kind and thoughtful person.
Dave is the person who posts obituaries of Tecumseh graduates who have died recently. This week he posted Scott’s obituary.
I do believe there have been well over a hundred tributes to Scott on Facebook and elsewhere on the internet. The comments on the Medway Area Historical Society Facebook page are touching. I asked a few who worked with him closely to tell me more.
President of Hertzler House and Administrator of Springfield Ohio History, Kristina Kitchen, said, “Scott was outstanding historian of our local history. He was one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. He would go out of his way to help anyone. He helped me tremendously over the years with locating information on the Hertzler Family. He will definitely be missed.”
David McWhorter said, “Besides being good friends Scott and I shared a passion for history. He was a wealth of knowledge for our area. He told me on several occasions that what he liked best was to attend local sports teams games to give support to the players.”
Scott loved Tecumseh schools, Medway, Bethel Township and New Carlisle and anything that had to do with their history. He didn’t have children of his own but he was a supporter of the sports teams that his nieces and nephews played on and even those of his friends at Northwestern.
Natalie Stone Fritz at the Clark County Heritage Center said, “The Trolley Tattler newsletter that he did for Medway is such a great resource and I was always amazed by how much work and time he put into research...I met him when he came to do research at the Heritage Center. The community is lucky to have people like him who are so devoted to telling those stories.”
I remember writing about Scott Suther gathering obituaries for all those buried in the New Carlisle and Donnelsville cemeteries, as his father had done where he grew up in Kansas. His brother Dave gathered the obituaries for Medway Cemetery. Because of their work final resting places can now easily be located and the obituary read for each person.
And Scott’s work continues with Dave’s assistance. Dave told me that Scott was unhappy with the worn condition of two Revolutionary War veteran’s stones in the New Carlisle Cemetery. Recently he ordered and paid for two replacement stones. The VFW reimbursed him when they found out what he had done. Later this spring when the stones are delivered there will be a dedication ceremony.
As Scott requested there will be no funeral held for him. He will be buried next to his father in the Medway Cemetery during a private service. Friends are invited to a Celebration of Scott Suther’s life on March 29, at the American Legion from 1 – 5 p.m.
Our hearts go out to his friends and family. Rest in peace, friend.