Surnames: Scott, Fahlgren, Schofield, Patchin, Aspen, Stelloh, Kurth, Peterson, Devos, Huckstead

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark County, Wis.) 03/01/1945

Scott, Walter Trench (20 June 1863 - 22 Feb. 1945)

Funeral services for the Rev. Walter T. Scott, aged 81, for many years a loved and respected resident of Neillsville, were held Sunday morning, February 25, at 9:30 at the Schiller-Terhune funeral home. The Rev. Floyd A. Fahlgren, pastor of the Methodist church, officiated and was assisted by the Rev. George W. Longenecker, pastor of the Congregational church. Burial took place in the family lot at Wisconsin Dells, where brief burial services were conducted later the same day.

Walter Trench Scott was born on June 20, 1863, in Bury, England. He grew to manhood and received his early education in England, and at the age of 23 came to America, settling in Minnesota. In 1888, he was united in marriage to Annie Schofield at Saint Peter, Minn. His desire to enter the Christian ministry, coupled with his natural ability and diligent study, resulted in his ordination as a Methodist minister in 1890. His first pastorates were in Minnesota - at Cleveland, Springfield, Lake Crystal, Fairfax, Fulda and Morristown. Through his capable leadership and fearlessness, he won the respect of the people in the communities wherever he served. At Morristown he was elected police chief and later mayor, and still retained the respect of his people as their pastor.

In 1905 Rev. Scott was transferred to the Wisconsin conference, coming first to the charge at Colfax. He later served the churches at Black River Falls, Brodhead and Wisconsin Dells. On Christmas Eve of 1917, while the family was residing at Wisconsin Dells, tragedy came to them, taking in death the wife and mother, Annie.

In the summer of 1920 he was married to Nellie Patchin of Wyocena, coming to Neillsville in September of that year. During his three-year pastorate here, grief again overtook him in the death of his only daughter, Gertrude, in 1923. From here they went to Durand, but after only two years there, he suffered a slight stroke which forced him to retire, and they moved to Wyocena where Mrs. Scott died in 1927. Rather poorly in health and made unhappy by the death of his loved ones, he decided to go west, for the next few years, he lived with his son, Beecher. Ten years ago, he returned to Neillsville, and has lived here with his son, Jess, and family since that time.

Rev. Scott was a lover of the outdoors, and was a familiar figure to many on his long walks. He had turned to gardening as a hobby, throughout his earlier life, and achieved considerable success in that line. He spent many happy hours at the library, pursuing the reading and study that have been a life long interest with him. His was a fertile and retentive mind and it remained keen until his last moments. He died in his sleep on Thursday evening, February 22, at 9 o’clock at the Neillsville hospital, where he had been a patient for ten days. Though he had been in frail health for a number of years he was able to be about his daily routine of walks and study until about three weeks ago, when weakness, due to old age, overtook him.

He is survived by his five sons, George and Jess of Neillsville; Beecher, who resides in California; Earl and Stafford of Aurora, Ill. His parents, four brothers and three sisters are all deceased. Also surviving are nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A granddaughter, Miss Goldie Scott, Chicago, and a grandson, Walter Scott, a navy student at Ann Arbor, Mich., were here for the funeral services. His sons, Earl and Stafford, of Aurora, and a grandson, James Scott, also of the navy, and a student at the University of Madison, were at Wisconsin Dells for the burial services. Mr. Terhune accompanied the family to Wisconsin Dells.

Pallbearers for the Neillsville services were: Ole Aspen, Fred Stelloh, Louis Kurth, B. H. Peterson, A. L. Devos and Harold Huckstead.