William C. Scott II ’70

One of our significant contributors to the advancement of American medicine, Bill died May 31, 2020, in San Francisco.

Bill came to us from Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa. At Princeton he majored in chemistry and engaged in original biochemical research, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the Robert Thornton McKay Prize in Physical Chemistry.

Instead of sleep, he found time not only for the Chemistry Club and Pre-Med Society, but also for the Trenton Tutorial Project and the social chairmanship of Terrace Club.

Bill went on from Princeton to Harvard Medical School, then to further training for thoracic and cardiac surgery at Mass General Hospital, the National Institutes of Health, and Stanford. He became one of the leading cardiothoracic surgeons in the country, earning numerous awards and authoring more than 40 publications in his field. He doubled as attending surgeon and clinical instructor at Yale-New Haven Hospital, served as department chair at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., then in St. Louis, and later as chief medical officer at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif. Along the way he earned the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Heart Association.

Bill is survived by his wife of 49 years, Phyllis; sons Jason and Aaron; daughter Shelby Scott Lazarow; and four grandchildren. Along with them, we admire and honor his lifetime in the nation’s service.