Miriam Scott

Miriam Eve Gilpin Scott was born on October 6, 1932, in Clarksville, Tennessee to Jeanette Haynes Gilpin and Cecil Gilpin. She had one younger brother, Reginald Monty Gilpin. Her father died when she was eight years old, and she was raised in modest circumstances by her widowed mother in Nashville, Tennessee. She attended public school and graduated from East High School in 1950. She attended Vanderbilt University, survived a bout of polio, and graduated from Tennessee Tech University in 1954, where she was the homecoming queen and dated a star of the football team, Edward M. “Scottie” Scott.

Miriam married 2nd Lt. Edward “Eddie” M. Scott on September 10, 1955, in Nashville, Tennessee, and became the quintessential Army officer’s wife for the next twenty years. Early in their marriage, she and Eddie had four children in five years. In 1959, she flew back to the states from Germany alone with their then three children in tow, ages three years, two years, and five months. She skillfully managed many family moves and set up welcoming homes, often in Army quarters, in Ft. Gordon, GA; Wurzburg, Germany; Rocky Mt. Arsenal, CO; Ft. Monmouth, NJ; Cookeville, TN (for ROTC duty at Tech); Ft. Leavenworth, KS; Washington DC; Heidelberg, Germany; Karlsruhe, Germany; and, Ft. Bragg, NC. She also kept the home fires burning stateside during her husband’s tours of duty in South Korea and South Vietnam.

Miriam was an involved and supportive wife and parent. She was always proud of the accomplishments of her husband and children, which her family realizes were made possible by her behind the scenes roles as wife and mother. She was especially happy to report that all her children had college degrees and successful careers. As busy as she was with her family, she also maintained her own interests which included entertaining, reading, sewing, needlework, decorating, traveling, tennis, and horseback riding.

In 1975, Miriam and Eddie retired to Cookeville, Tennessee, where they built their dream home in the woods beside a creek where they happily resided for the rest of their lives. A tennis player since she was a teen, Miriam worked “very part-time,” (as she liked to say) at the indoor tennis center at Tech for many years. She also added new hobbies such as gardening, nurturing wildflowers, quilting, and crafting. Miriam was never one to sit still. The family home was decorated with her handiwork which will be treasured forever by her family. She was a member of a variety of groups in Cookeville including the Embroidery Guild, a craft group, an investment club, a tennis group, a mahjong group, a bridge club, and a dinner club. Beginning in 1983, she relished her role as “Nana” to her grandchildren and, more recently, her great-grandchildren.

After a period of declining health, Miriam passed away peacefully on April 2, 2024, at Cookeville Regional Medical Center. She was predeceased by her parents and brother. She was survived by her husband of 68 years, Edward M. Scott, their four children and their families: Edward M. Scott, Jr., his wife, Candy, of Traveler’s Rest, SC, their son, Edward M. “Trey” Scott, III, and daughter, Savannah Scott Mitchell (husband, Graham Mitchell, and baby Mitchell expected in July 2024); Mitchell H. Scott, his wife, Jacqueline B. Dixon, of Nashville, TN, and their family Savannah E. Martinez and Carmen G. Martinez; Becky Scott Gray, her husband, David Gray, of Grafenwoehr, Germany, and their children, Erin Gray and Dane Gray; and, Sandy Scott Tinsley of Knoxville, TN, her children, Will Tinsley (wife, Robin, and son, Barrett), Andrew Tinsley (wife, Emily, and son, Weston), and Rachael Tinsley. She is also survived by several cousins, nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held at the East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee.