Diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer four years ago, Marcy Scott began a blog to chronicle the ups and downs of her treatment.
“Marcy poured her heart into those blogs, making more than 100 entries,” said her mother, Charlotte Scott of Lilburn. “She stayed positive and thought she was going to beat the cancer. The responses she got from others with cancer meant a lot to her. They found her writing inspirational.”
A year ago she felt cancer-free and wrote no blog updates after October 2012. Then in May she developed troubling symptoms that necessitated a CT scan. It showed she had a brain tumor.
On June 11 she wrote her last blog. In it, she was her usual positive self, pointing out a few hopeful indicators mentioned by her doctors, but she also admitted to being scared. Ultimately, she took comfort in knowing she had beaten the disease before.
Marcy Lynn Scott, 42, of Mableton died Friday at her parents’ Lilburn home. Her life will be celebrated in a service at noon Monday at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Stone Mountain. Crowell Brothers Funeral Home in Peachtree Corners is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Atlanta, Scott graduated from Parkview High and the University of Georgia. A longtime friend, Michelle Dauble of Douglasville, said Scott was blessed with a winning personality and was amazingly organized, traits she put to good use during a notable career in public relations.
For nine years starting in 1996, Scott was on the road 39 weeks each year, handling publicity for NASCAR teams and individual drivers like the 2000 Busch Series champion Jeff Green and the 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton. By 2006 Scott was ready for a more settled existence here, managing publicity for the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The AMS president, Ed Clark, praised Scott’s dedication. “Marcy was the consummate professional with a penchant for detail and a ton of charisma,” he said. “She made her work fun and enjoyable for everyone — from fans to NASCAR teams, drivers, media members and co-workers.”
Doug Rice of Salisbury, N.C., president of Performance Racing Network, called Scott “a hero in the racing community” for the way she bounced back from her many surgeries and chemotherapy.
“I remember Marcy making an appearance at the 2011 NASCAR awards dinner in Las Vegas, and she looked less like a cancer survivor and more like a movie star. It was like a coming-out party for her,” Rice said.
Rick Minter of Inman, Ga., former motorsports beat writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said Scott “was one of the few people in the world of NASCAR public relations who knew how to make both racing celebrities and the media happy. She took care of the drivers she represented and was mindful of their time, but she also made sure those of us in the media got the access and information we needed,” Minter said.
“When she came to AMS, she worked tirelessly, even as she battled cancer, to get the race track’s story out there. And that wasn’t easy given the challenges of promoting NASCAR in a town where stick and ball sports are so popular and played so much closer to the city than the races at AMS,” Minter said
Charlotte Scott said illness made her daughter think about making the most of her time. She chose to enjoy Caribbean beaches and hike in some of America’s national parks. She spent Monday evenings in Bible study with women friends. Mostly, though, Marcy Scott was determined to maintain her many friendships.
“Marcy’s friends were amazing,” her mother said. “During the last few months they visited her, stayed with her, gave her comfort and support, and provided her father and me a break while Marcy was staying at our house.”
Also surviving are her father, Buck Scott; a brother, Stewart Scott of Atlanta; and her grandparents, Jay and Jane Hollis of Fayetteville, N.C.
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