Ange Scott Obituary (1931 - 2024)

Ange Scott, loving mother to eight children, devoted wife to two husbands who preceded her in death, and wise and talented teacher and principal for untold numbers of Catholic schoolchildren in the Seattle area, passed away on January 2, 2024. She will be remembered for her strength, wit, curiosity, kindness, and grace. Ange was born September 24, 1931, in Noonan, North Dakota, and moved to Seattle as a child. She attended Roosevelt High School, where she met Edward Forhan, whom she married in 1949. After graduating from the University of Washington, Ed began working as an accountant, and Ange became a full-time mother to, eventually, eight children. In the late 1960s, even while many of her children were still at home, Ange returned to school, eventually earning a Master of Education degree from the University of Washington and enjoying a career in Seattle-area Catholic elementary schools. Over a quarter century, she taught or served as principal for Sacred Heart in Bellevue and Our Lady of the Lake, Assumption, St. Matthews, and Our Lady of Fatima in Seattle. After Ed's death in 1973, Ange rekindled her acquaintance with, and in 1980 married, James Russell Scott--"Russ," who had been a friend and admirer decades before when they attended Roosevelt High together. Ange and Russ were a good match and lived devoted to each other until Russ' death in 2018. Together, they delighted in traveling to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and China, as well as all around the United States. Since Russ had a fancy for classic automobiles, they also took many shorter, local excursions tooling along Pacific Northwest highways in events sponsored by the local chapter of the Horseless Carriage Club of America. For seven decades, Ange was a loyal and active parishioner of Our Lady of the Lake Church. For many years, she and Russ volunteered there as lector and usher and at St. Francis House. Throughout her life, Ange persevered through many challenges, never losing hope and joy. Her emotional strength, discipline, and foresightedness helped her survive, and thrive, and made her a model to her children and others of how to live a life of dignity, service, and meaning. Ange was fiercely intelligent and powerfully curious, with deep reserves of good sense and good cheer. She read thought-provoking books and had an interest in the nuances and oddities of language. In conversation, she was always game to explore any topic her companion had it in mind to discuss. To the end, she kept her wits and her wit; she kept her strength, her resolve, her love of life and her family; she kept her faith. Ange was preceded in death by her mother, Esther Gervais; her father, Edwin Peterson; stepfather Harry Lee Gervais; twin sisters Janet Foss and Janice Klockow; daughter Patricia (Trish) Stevenson; husbands Russ Scott and Ed Forhan; and Russ' son Jeff Scott. She is survived by two younger siblings, Linda Clyde and Mike (JoAnne) Gervais; seven children: Theresa (Terry) Steig, Peg Forhan, Kevin Forhan, Chris Forhan (Alessandra Lynch), Dana Forhan, Kim (Dean) Lambert, and Erica Forhan (Ross Popenoe); Russ' children Jay (Jennifer) Scott, Vicki Sunde, Jack (Terri) Scott, and Jim (Laurie) Scott; and many nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. A Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, March 11th at 11:00am at Our Lady of the Lake Church, 8900 35th Avenue N.E., Seattle, followed by a reception. Private inurnment will follow at Holyrood Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Ange be remembered through a donation to the Our Lady of the Lake Parish or St. Francis House--or through acts of kindness.