Thomas Edward Scott Sr.

Thomas Edward Scott Sr. fell asleep in Jesus Christ and entered into eternal rest on June 24th , 2026 at the VA Hospital in Danville, IL. Mr. Scott was born at home in rural Elliott, Illinois, the second son of John Thackery Scott and Esther Margaret (Punke) Scott.

Mr. Scott grew up on a farm outside Elliott, Illinois, working alongside his father and brothers raising corn and soybeans, and tending pigs and cattle. Born in the early years of the Great Depression between the two World Wars, he learned by necessity to be resourceful, making do with what he had, and became skilled at fixing electronics, tools, and machinery. He attended the rural Oregon School — about a mile west and a mile north from home on what is now County Road 500 North — from first through eighth grade. He walked there with his brothers, John and Harold. He went to Drummer Township High School in Gibson City, graduating in 1948.

Mr. Scott’s fascination with radios and electronics inspired him to earn an Amateur Radio Technician license in 1950. When the Korean War began in June of that year, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and became a radioman. After completing basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, he attended radio school and went on to serve as a radio operator at Goose Bay, Labrador; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Rockville, Indiana. He also learned locksmithing in 1953, working with the Master Locksmith at the Nebraska Ordinance Plant near Mead, Nebraska. Mr. Scott served in the Air Force until 1954, when he was honorably discharged with the final rank of Staff Sergeant. Following his military service, he returned to the family farm near Elliott, Illinois, where he resumed working alongside his father in the family’s farming operation.

While serving in the Air Force, Mr. Scott earned his private pilot’s license, qualifying him to fly small aircraft. After returning home, he joined the Ford County Civil Air Patrol, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. He also advanced his Amateur Radio credentials by earning his Extra Class license, successfully passing both the General Class and Extra Class examinations at the same time. Later in life, he proctored prospective licensees sitting for their Amateur Radio exams. His son, Tim, took an interest in Amateur Radio and holds a Tech, plus Class license.

Mr. Scott met his future wife, Priscilla A. Crowe, through a local car club and they were married in June 1958. They established their home on a farm just north of the family homestead, which they purchased from Mr. Scott’s father. Mr. Scott continued farming and raising cattle on his own land as well as continuing to help his father with his farming. In about 1964, his father retired from farming and Mr. Scott joined him in auctioning off all of their cattle and farm equipment. He and his family continued living on the farmstead, but cash-rented the farm ground to neighbors and relatives for continued farm operation. As his family grew, he supplemented the family income by taking in welding and mechanical work at his farm shop, putting to use the welding skills he had learned on the farm. He worked for Central Soya as an electrician and then M & W Gear Company as a millwright and production welder, both companies were located in Gibson City, while also continuing to farm. Seeking greater opportunities and better benefits, Mr. Scott accepted a position as a Building Operating Engineer at the (then) new Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois in 1969. In fact, the contractor was still putting the finishing touches on the building when he started, which gave him an intimate knowledge of its HVAC and other systems. In his last few years at the University, he advanced to Chief Building Operating Engineer at the Horticulture greenhouses, from where he retired in 1989. While working full time at the University, he continued his education, earning a degree in Occupational and Practical Arts from the University of Illinois in January 1982, which qualified him to teach Industrial Arts at the high school level. Mr. Scott did some substitute teaching in the subject at Central High School in Champaign. He also earned a degree in Food Sanitation from Sauk Valley College.

Mr. Scott’s interests and hobbies included model railroading, live steam engines, welding and machining, photography, and ham radio. He was active in the Pontiac Thresherman’s Club, the I & I Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Club of Penfield, the Illinois Central Historical Society (now a part of the Monticello Railway Museum) in Paxton, the Wabash Historical Society, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Historical Society, the Illinois Traction Historical Society, the Illinois Pioneer Heritage Center (now known as the Piatt County Museum) and the Monticello Railway Museum. He was also a member of Monticello’s American Legion and Piatt County EMS, serving as a storm spotter and manning refreshment and check-in stations for the Sage City 10k run and other running and biking events. Mr. Scott was a bonded locksmith and a registered notary public.

In late 1965 or early 1966, Mr. Scott saw an article in the Bloomington Pantagraph about the Society for the Perpetuation of Unretired Railfans (S.P.U.R.), a group that was trying to build a railroad museum in LeRoy, Illinois and operate a demonstration railroad on the Illinois Central’s Rantoul District track from LeRoy to Sabina. He joined SPUR as a Life Member in March of 1966, shortly after the organization formally incorporated. SPUR’s talks with the Illinois Central to locate in LeRoy were unsuccessful and its founder, Ted Lemen, talked to Mr. Scott about building track around the farmland he owned near Elliott instead. Before he could give it much consideration, SPUR found a permanent home in Monticello, Illinois. Mr. Scott helped the organization grow, also signing up his wife, Priscilla, and their four children as members. His brother, Harold, also joined. Founder Lemen said that, at one time, the Scott family was about 20% of the organization’s membership. After the group located in Monticello, it changed its name to the Monticello & Sangamon Valley Railway Historical Society to reflect its new home. The name would be changed again in 1984 to the Monticello Railway Museum. Mr. Scott worked on many projects (too numerous to mention) at the Museum over the years, including the rebuild of Southern Railway steam locomotive #401 from 1995 to 2010. He was on the Board of Directors for 17 years from the late 1960’s to the early 1980’s, the second-longest serving Board Member of the organization. Mr. Scott’s wife, Priscilla, and her distant cousin, Marla Young, started the Museum’s Gift shop using the proceeds of cakes and cookies sold to Museum volunteers in the early days of the Museum. His brother, Harold, was President of the Museum in the mid-1980’s. All four of Mr. Scott’s children are Life Members of the Monticello Railway Museum, as are a few of his grandchildren – three generations of membership in the Museum.

While Mr. Scott was not in the Boy Scouts of America as a youth, he took an active role when his sons went through the program. He became an adult leader in their troops. Mr. Scott helped and encouraged all three of his sons to develop valuable life skills through Scouting. During his tenure as an adult leader, he helped with Elliott, Illinois Troop 156 in the early 1970’s then changed to Paxton, IL Troop 32 with his sons – first as an Assistant Scoutmaster, then as Scoutmaster. In 1973, he earned the prestigious Wood Badge Award, Scouting’s premier leadership training award, during the first class offering the training at Camp Robert Drake near Oakwood, IL. Under his guidance, his eldest son, Tom Jr, achieved the final rank of Life Scout and was elected to the Order of the Arrow. – Scouting’s equivalent of the “National Honor Society.” Mr. Scott took great pride in watching two of his sons, Tom Jr. and Ted, become adult leaders with the Monticello (T490) and Paxton (T32) troops (respectively), guiding their own sons (Mr. Scott’s grandsons) through Scouts. One of Mr. Scott’s sons, Tom Jr, accompanied the 2009 Prairielands Council Contingent to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico as an adult advisor, while the other, Ted, earned the Wood Badge Award and was elected to Order of the Arrow while an adult leader of Troop 32 (Paxton). Two of Mr. Scott’s grandsons (Thomas J. Scott and Stephen Scott) earned Scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout, and both were elected to the Order of the Arrow.

Mr. Scott is survived by his former wife, Priscilla, his four children: Thomas E. Jr. (Lolita Mercado), Timothy E. (Kelly Young), Theresa E. (Michael Struss), Theodore E. (Sheri Corning); along with seven grandchildren, Matthew Scott, Stephen Scott (Brittany Jarboe), Thomas J. Scott, Dulcenea K. Scott, Carly C. Scott, Kassidy K. Scott, and Caitlin A. Struss; and two great-granddaughters, Evangeline Struss
and Elizabeth Scott.

Mr. Scott was predeceased by both parents and his brothers, John Thackery Scott Jr. and Harold Gustav Scott.

Mr. Scott will be given a last train ride at the Monticello Railway Museum on Saturday 18-July-2026, departing the Museum’s Monticello Wabash Depot at 11:30am. Relatives and friends are welcome to accompany him on his final ride behind a steam locomotive he helped restore, Southern Railway #401. Following the train’s return to Monticello at 12:45pm, Mr. Scott’s remains will be taken off the train and carried to the Museum’s Wabash Center by members of Monticello’s American Legion, across the parking lot from the depot, for military honors. He will then be carried into the building for a memorial and limited refreshments from about 12:50pm to 3pm. After the memorial, Mr. Scott’s remains will be taken to the Drummer Township Cemetery in Gibson City where there will be a graveside service at 4:30pm at the Scott Family plot. He will be interred near his brother, Harold, and between his parents.