Herman Scott’s family used to tease him that he perfected the art of the deal long before Donald Trump.
An engineer by trade, Mr. Scott of Decatur was never shy about dabbling in entrepreneurial opportunities on the side.
There were mobile home parks, duplexes, residential neighborhoods and office warehouses. There was the machine manufacturing plant, a metals forge, and anything else that piqued his interest.
“He was always going from one deal to another,” said his wife of 62 years, Jacqueline G. Scott. “At one time he must have owned more mobile home parks circling Atlanta than anyone else.”
His oldest son, Michael A. Scott of Newnan, remembers most of his dad’s business ventures as being successful, too.
“He always had a good eye for turning the buck,” he said. “But sometimes he was a better judge of business opportunities than the character of his partners.”
Mr. Scott was swindled a few times by business partners who took his money and left town, his son said. Nevertheless, his father always honored all the financial obligations.
Herman Harrell Scott, 88, died April 22 at Hospice Atlanta of injuries sustained in a fall. His wife said he had been at Emory University Hospital since falling in their home April 2 and fracturing his right femur.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Wieuca Road Baptist Church, with arrangements by H.M. Patterson & Son, Oglethorpe Hill Chapel.
Mr. Scott grew up in Virginia, then served as chief engineer on Liberty ships with the Merchant Marines during World War II.
After the war, he headed off to college. First he went to Elon, where he met his wife, then on to Virginia Tech and Johns Hopkins University for his engineering degrees.
He took a job with Scott Paper Co., now Kimberly-Clark, at its Brunswick mill in 1951, then moved into national sales in the Atlanta office in 1958. Though he had the same surname, Mr. Scott was not related to the company owners.
After being with Scott Paper for 30 years, Mr. Scott took early retirement at age 55 to work full time on his side businesses.
“He went from a job to going to work,” his wife said.
Mr. Scott also was active in the local Kiwanis Club and especially with his church, Wieuca Road Baptist, where he had been a deacon and Sunday school teacher.
Claude Petty of Roswell, a longtime friend and fellow church member, said the two had many adventures, including golf trips, European vacations with their spouses and attending countless athletic events at Georgia Tech.
Because he lived so far from his beloved Virginia Tech, Mr. Scott became an ardent supporter of the Yellow Jackets, holding season tickets in multiple sports.
“Herman paid tremendous allegiance to Georgia Tech,” said Mr. Petty, who is a Tech alumnus. “He loved all the athletic teams, and the academics."
Other survivors include another son, Harrell David Scott of Savannah; a sister, Anne Hope Scott of Rockville, Md.; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
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