Obituary of Stuart Riley Scott

Stuart Scott was known as much for his gentlemanly ways, love of family and willingness to mentor younger colleagues as he was for his expertise in real estate.A member of the Colorado Springs business community since the mid-1970s, Scott worked in development, property management and advertising before turning full time to residential real estate.As a Realtor, he specialized in the sale and marketing of high-end homes but never lost his down-to-earth way of dealing with friends and associates."He was a good guy," said Robert "Rocky" Scott, one of Stuart's brothers. "Always the gentleman. What you saw in him was genuine, and it's the way he treated everybody."Stuart Scott, one of the Springs' most respected real estate agents and a dean of the local industry, died Wednesday of lung cancer. He was 68."He was extremely well thought of and highly respected as an individual business person, in addition to his many years in the real estate industry," said Bill Hurt, owner of ERA Shields Real Estate."He always did a lot of business because of the kind of person he was," Hurt added.Scott was born in Honduras, where his father, Virgil, worked for the United Fruit Co. The Scotts moved to Greeley when Stuart was about 11 or 12 and later settled in Fort Collins where his father ran a real estate business, said Eric Scott, Stuart's son.Stuart Scott graduated with a bachelor's degree from Colorado State University and entered the Army, becoming a captain and serving as an intelligence officer in Vietnam in the early 1970s.Scott worked with his father in real estate in Fort Collins before moving to the Springs. His development experience included converting apartments into condos and townhomes. Property management and advertising followed.Scott's brokerage, Stuart Scott Ltd., was a small office on South Tejon Street but did big business. While Scott specialized in upper-end homes, he and brokers handled all types of properties.Marla Twardowski, Scott's longtime business partner and vice president of Stuart Scott Ltd., said Scott firmly believed in customer service. Agents deal with real estate transactions every day, but clients don't, Twardowski said about Scott's value system."So we try and put ourselves in their shoes," she said.Scott wrote a regular column for The Gazette and communicated with clients via newsletters. The newsletters always contained cartoons Scott drew; at real estate closings, he'd doodle cartoons for children to color.He enjoyed teaching young brokers about the ins and outs of the profession, Twardowski said. His teaching didn't stop there; Scott liked visiting with students at Cheyenne Mountain High School, where his daughter teaches, Twardowski said."He lived his life with such grace," Twardowski said.In 2009, Scott merged Stuart Scott Ltd. with ERA Shields Real Estate. Hurt said Scott was the epitome of a business professional. He dressed in nice suits, shared business strategies with co-workers and had what Hurt called "a handshake way of doing business" - believing that words meant as much as written contracts."Many people modeled what they did in their business and in their personal life around what they perceived Stuart had done and what he stood for," Hurt said.Eric Scott, who joined the business, said his father was a friend and mentor."He was a golden rule kind of guy," Eric said. "Everyone felt respected by him and hopefully then, in turn, respected him."Rocky Scott said his brother was devoted to his wife, children and grandchildren. But he also found time to volunteer for organizations such as the Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pikes Peak Region, Cheyenne Village, the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors and the Colorado Association of Realtors, among others."All around, he was a guy who measured up very well," Rocky Scott said.Stuart Scott is survived by his wife of 45 years, Susan; a son, Eric; a daughter, Megan May; two brothers, Rocky and Doug; two sisters, Chi Leary and Mana Arnett; and four grandchildren.Services are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Broadmoor Community Church, 315 Lake Ave., on Colorado Springs' southwest side.Funeral Home:The Springs Funeral Services3115 East Platte AvenueColorado Springs, , COUS 80909 Events Service Wednesday, February 11, 2015 2:30PM Broadmoor Community Church 315 Lake Avenue Colorado Springs, CO 80906 Phone: 719-473-1807