Aratus Rezin Scott

Aratus Rezin Scott, 89, of Rock Island, IL, passed away Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at Heartland Health Care Center in Moline, IL. Mr. Scott, son of James Paul and Ruth Mary Hicks Scott, was born on January 21, 1919, in Galena, IL, and graduated from high school in Warren, IL. He married Charlotte Catherine Callan on December 25, 1940, in the First Congregational Church, Dubuque, IA. He worked for the Corps of Engineers doing survey work, and also worked at the Rock Island Arsenal prior to joining the Army Air Corps as a tail gunner and gunnery instructor during WWII. He did tours in Panama and the Galapagos Islands. He returned to the Rock Island Arsenal, and later to HQ, Army Armaments Material Readiness Command, as a Quality Assurance Inspector, retiring in 1981 with 43 years of government service. Mr. Scott was a life member of the Rock Island Lodge #658 Masonic Temple, a member of American Legion Post #246, and a member of the Rock Island Conservation Club, serving as Treasurer and Hunter Safety Instructor. He belonged to the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Moline, and held the position of head usher for many years. Rezin enjoyed hunting, fishing, golf, and spent many hours restoring and caning furniture. Visitation will be held Thursday, July 31st, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Wendt Funeral Home in Moline. Services will be held Friday, August 1st, at 9:00 a.m., at First Congregational Church in Moline. Burial will be in National Cemetery on Arsenal Island, Rock Island, with Military Rites accorded by American Legion Post #246. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Congregational Church, Moline, IL. In addition to his wife, Charlotte, he is survived by a daughter: Karen Ann Ylinen of Moline; a son: Gregory Rezin (Elizabeth) Scott of Davenport, IA; four grandsons: Paul (Ilona) Ylinen of Chicago, IL, Benjamin Ylinen of Carlsbad, CA, and Nicholas and Bryan Scott of Davenport; one great-granddaughter, Alexia Ylinen of Chicago; a sister, Mary Schubert of Rockford, IL; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, James Scott, and a sister, Ann Petruzzi.