On July 30, 1924, Arthur Scott was born at Stamford Hospital. On July 30, 2024, Arthur Scott, or lovingly referred to as Scotty by his family, will be turning 100 years old. Scotty has been a Newtown resident since 1991, when he and his wife, Jo, fell in love with a house on what was then a dirt road.

The two of them built their home there and decorated the backyard with bird feeders to feed the diverse array of birds in the area, and cat statues. Woodpeckers, finches, and blue jays flutter about behind the big window where Scotty spends his time now with his 15-year-old cat, Stripes.

Scotty explained how he and his wife, Jo, would turn the home into a dance hall on Monday nights when they practiced together. They would practice Mondays, take classes on Wednesdays, and on Fridays they would go out dancing together. As Scotty talked about his wife, the love he still has for her poured out of him. It was clear to see that was a huge part of his life. Losing his wife had a lasting impact on him, and the hurt still percolates two years later.

Scotty lost both of his siblings at a young age. His youngest sister tragically passed away at five years old after being struck by a car, and his bother passed away at 15 from leukemia.

“My mom and dad were shattered,” Scotty said. “Both had heart attacks, and somebody had to work to get the money. Well that somebody was me because I was the only one left.”

He started working two jobs to support his parents and himself, and it left no time for him to go to school or pursue a college education. However, that did not stop him from becoming an accomplished young man.

In the 1950s, Scotty went to work for General Electric. As someone who didn’t have an education, “you might think this is incredible,” he prefaced, “I was the Chief Auditor.” While still employed at General Electric, he received a call from Perkin-Elmer Corporation and went over for an interview.

“We started to talk and talk and talk. And I got there at 1:30, about 4 o’clock … he hired me,” Scotty said. In this new position, he worked on the space program that sent the first men to the moon. He recounted staying up with his father, three months after he lost his mother, watching the moon landing live on television.

“My father said to me, ‘Well, I’m gonna go to bed now.’ I looked at him and says, ‘You better sit down again. Because I got something to say to you. I’m the guy, who at 16 … gave up my education to keep this family going. And in my moment of glory, you are not going to bed.’” His father wound up staying up later than he did watching the footage.

Though Scotty gave up his high school education, he was given the opportunity to study at the University of California at Berkeley for about three months. In his later years, he did a “home study course” from Michigan State University in business management. Scotty was a fantastic student, and even outscored a lot of the other students in his class.

The professor came into class saying that he was going to hand in his resignation. “‘Apparently, I don’t know how to teach anymore … In fact, sitting next to Mr True, without a high school education, outscored some of you,’” Scotty recounted. He said, “I thought, ‘Poor Scotty, you’re no dumb button.’”

Scotty has had 26 surgeries over his lifetime, but even then, he only stopped driving at 98 years old. He walked at least one mile every day with his second wife. “We would walk two miles if it was clear, one mile if it was raining or snowing.”

The pair kept themselves in shape by touring Europe and taking up the whole dance floor in Germany when the orchestra started to play Glen Miller’s “In the Mood.”

“Dancing is just a wonderful way to stay in shape and it’s really fun,” Scotty said.

He’s seen changes come into the town, such as the influx of eateries. He says there are more cars than ever and remembers when there were only two restaurants in town. As mentioned above, when he moved into his home in 1991, the road was dirt. Part of it still is a dirt road, but his driveway now meets a paved road.

He wants young people to know that, “You can’t beat education, you really can’t. It’s the story of your life, really.”

=====

Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.