John William Scott III ’56

John was born in Osaka, Japan — a happenstance that prepared him for a peripatetic life of foreign assignments as an executive for Corn Products and Unilever in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In retirement, he remained committed to fostering microlending and economic development as a director of Accion. Always the constant factor, however, was his home on Block Island, R.I., and his love of sailing, where he was, according to his wife Lyn, “most at peace among the waves.”

At Princeton, John joined Colonial Club and majored in classics. His time with us was truncated when he left after sophomore year to spend two years in the Army. Happily, he came back to graduate with the Class of 1958. An avid scholar, John would impart life lessons to his grandchildren with an apt quote from some ancient Sumerian text.

John died Aug. 4, 2024, in East Providence, R.I. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; and children John (Samantha), Julia Leigh (Michael Wardner), and Robert Augustine. His son Matthew predeceased him. Six grandchildren remember him as a “pillar of generosity and love” and a “beacon of wisdom and joy.”