‘You finally made it home’: U.S. Rep. David Scott remembered for faith, service
The last time Sen. Raphael Warnock saw Rep. David Scott was on a plane bound from Atlanta to Washington.
He was doing what Warnock had seen him do so many times: sitting in seat, Bible on his lap, reading intently. Warnock said Scott didn’t make it back home before he died April 22. But Warnock was not troubled.
“Dear brother, you finally made it home,” Warnock told a crowd during a eulogy at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Atlanta on Saturday. “Keep the lights on for us.”
Hundreds of people attended Scott’s funeral service at the southwest Atlanta church. His death at age 80 has touched off a scramble among candidates seeking to fill the remainder of his term and take his seat in Congress for a full term beginning next year.
But Friday and Saturday were devoted to commemorating Scott’s life. Friends, family and colleagues remembered a man of faith who made a career of serving others.
David Scott: 1945 - 2026
Georgia Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott has died after nearly 50 years of elected office. He was the first Black chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, a powerful post shaping national farm and food policy.
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His grandchildren, Kimani and Kaylin Vidal, read a passage from Ephesians that had become a favorite of Scott’s in recent years. It reads in part: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
“He wrote it all over the house,” Kaylin Vidal recalled of the passage.
Others recounted Scott’s years of service in the Georgia General Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives, to which he was first elected in 2002. Helen Griffin, his longtime assistant, called Scott a man of intelligence and integrity and a true “Blue Dog Democrat.”
“That meant voting with Republicans if it truly benefited his district,” Griffin said.
Warnock praised Scott’s journey from the child of domestic workers to Florida A&M University to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he earned a master’s degree in business administration. Instead of focusing on himself, Warnock said Scott devoted his life to public service and fought for the disadvantaged.
Scott received similar plaudits Friday at a solemn memorial at the Georgia Capitol, where his flag-draped coffin rested in the rotunda as hundreds of mourners gathered to pay tribute.
Scott’s widow and two daughters sat in the front row. Dignitaries included Andrew Young, much of Georgia’s congressional delegation and several other U.S. House members. U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters said Scott was her go-to lawmaker on agricultural issues.
“Whatever the complications were, whatever the problems were, he worked to bring the two sides together,” Waters said.
Calvin Smyre, who served in the Georgia House for nearly a half-century, first met Scott in 1975 when they were part of the same incoming freshman delegation in the state House.
Scott later helped create the PeachCare health insurance program for children. As Senate Rules Committee chair, he helped set the state agenda.
“He brought vision, discipline and a deep respect for the democratic process,” Smyre said. “He was a laser-focused person.”
Smyre recalled that Scott would go into the well during tense House-Senate moments and lay into him when Smyre was House Rules chair.
Then Scott would call him that night and ask: “How did I do?”
Smyre said Scott’s legacy offered a lesson about the meaning of public office: “He reminds us public service is not about power but purpose.”
About the Authors
David Wickert writes about the state budget, finance and voting issues. Previously, he covered local government and politics in Gwinnett and Fulton counties. Before moving to Atlanta, he worked at newspapers in Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
