Scott, Robert Bruce

Robert Bruce Scott, 89, of Blacksburg, Va., died Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at his home. He was born in Detroit, Mich., on December 9, 1918, to the late Robert J. and Martha F. Purdy Scott.

Bruce earned a B.S. in chemistry from the Detroit Institute of Technology 1939. During World War II he served at several air force bases in Africa and then at the Fort Dix, N.J., air base until going off active duty as a captain in February 1946. After earning his M.S. in physical chemistry from the University of Detroit in 1948 he had a career in pharmaceutical research as a spectroscopist, retiring in 1984.

He married Patricia Joan Mitchell, of Detroit, in August, 1947. Their lifelong marriage was blessed by three children, Lana Burns, of Asheville, N.C., Jeffrey Scott, of Lexington, Va., and Christopher Scott, of Brentwood, Tenn. Bruce and Patricia have been the proud grandparents of four grandchildren, Lana’s Rachel and Ethan Burns, and Lara and Kira, daughters of Christopher.

Throughout his life, Bruce gave his time to the communities in which he lived, as a member of the Plymouth school board, and working as a volunteer at the historical society and hospital.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 762, Christiansburg, Va. 24068 or a charity of your choice. The family will will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, September 25, 2008, at McCoy Funeral Home, 150 Country Club Drive, S.W., Blacksburg, Va.