North Bend Dairy Freeze owner dies at 92
Published 4:45 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
The words “generous,” “hard-working” and “humble” come to mind when Dorothy Mae Scott’s children talk about her.
They even laugh affectionately when asked what they think Dorothy would have wanted to be remembered for.
“She was so modest, she would probably say ‘nothing,'” said her son, Roy Scott of Spokane. “She was the last one to take credit for anything.”
“She [didn’t] realize how many lives she’s touched,” said her daughter, Pat Baker of Moses Lake.
Dorothy, the original owner of Scott’s Dairy Freeze (among other businesses) in North Bend, passed away May 19 at age 92 with her family around her. In the weeks leading up to her death, she had experienced minor strokes and, in the words of Pat, “she just wore down.”
Born Feb. 20, 1914, in Seattle, Dorothy moved with her family to Cedar Falls in 1922. She was the elder sister to Wally, who died in 1937, and Pat, who died in 1946. Her younger sister, Lois Johnson, resides in North Bend.
Dorothy attended a two-room schoolhouse in Cedar Falls. A graduate of North Bend High School, she completed a degree from a Seattle business school in the early ’30s and began working for the state welfare office soon after.
She attended the 1933 world’s fair in Chicago while representing the business school and was a member of the school’s Alpha Iota sorority.
She married Albert Scott in 1936 and the couple returned to North Bend. He died Dec. 14, 1996.
In the late 1930s, the Scott’s invested in their first business, a meat market in North Bend.
In 1940, after the business failed, they moved to Renton, where Albert worked for the Puget Sound Power and Light o. and Dorothy worked on an assembly line in the tank division at Pacific Car and Foundry. Pat was born the same year.
After World War II ended in 1945, the couple moved back to North Bend and invested in multiple properties and businesses including a delicatessen and a tavern. In 1947, Roy was born.
The idea for Scott’s Dairy Freeze came from a Dairy Queen they had seen while living in Renton. Using a similar concept, Dorothy and Albert opened Scott’s Dairy Freeze in 1951.
Originally open only on the weekends, though there was work to be done during the week, the establishment sold hot dogs, potato chips, grilled cheese sandwiches, ice cream and soda.
“The only time she wasn’t working there was Christmas and Thanksgiving,” Johnson said.
“She was a hard-working woman,” Roy said.
The Scott’s sold the restaurant in 1969 to Pat and her husband Bob, who ran it until Ken Hearing, now the North Bend mayor, purchased it in 1990.
The couple moved to Ellensburg in 1969, where they ranched and raised cattle before moving back to the family home in North Bend in 1995.
“She was a very progressive woman,” Roy noted, adding that she had recently bought a computer and loved to play solitaire on it. “She was always doing something. She wasn’t an old lady, that’s for sure.”
“She was the kindest, most generous person,” Pat added. “She would do anything for anybody.”
A few weeks before Dorothy died, Pat said that in a moment of reflection on her younger years, Dorothy made the comment, “I just don’t know how I did all that stuff.”
An avid knitter, organ player and a lover of history and people, Dorothy entertained many throughout the years and was always generous with her time and her efforts. She never complained and was almost always upbeat.
“She was always there for me, no matter how busy she was,” Pat said.
“She always put others before herself,” Roy added. “She never bragged about anything.”
“Everybody loved Dorothy,” Lois noted, adding that she loved to talk about the history of Cedar Falls in particular.
Pat and Roy recalled that, as children, Dorothy would make breakfast every morning.
She also taught her children proper etiquette and had a great memory. When Roy was at an age when he was embarrassed to have his mother watch him play basketball or baseball, Dorothy would sneak in to see him perform. When Lois would have a knitting question or needed driving directions into Seattle, she went straight to Dorothy.
Dorothy loved to have a house filled with people, even creating a “birthday club” with her friends so that she could host birthday celebrations. She made everyone feel welcome, her children said.
“She was a wonderful person,” Lois said.
Dorothy is survived by her children, Pat and Roy; her sister, Lois; her grandchildren, Bruce Baker, Cindy Clark, Robin Lamb, Todd Scott and Casey Scott; and her great-grandchildren, Katie, Joe, Bobby, Tim, Michael and Scott.
Graveside services were held at Evergreen-Washelli Funeral Home and Cemetery in Seattle on May 23.
A memorial service to celebrate Dorothy’s life will be held at Snoqualmie Middle School, 9200 Railroad Ave. S.E. in Snoqualmie, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 3. Call (425) 831-8050 for information.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Mount Si Senior Center or the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum.
