Rettke: Farewell to ‘a cop’s cop'

When Daniel Scott was young, his father often would get called away from home because he was needed at work to respond to the latest local emergency.

His father, the late longtime DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott, appeared like Superman in those moments, Daniel said in a moving eulogy Friday. Like Clark Kent, tearing fake glasses from his face, twirling that looped hair on his forehead and straightening his posture, Roger would transform from Dad to police officer, leaving in a flash to go help someone.

Roger Scott received a fitting farewell Friday at Bethany Road Bible Church in DeKalb. Loved ones told the crowd that he planned it all himself.

I spent the rest of the day wondering what that must have been like. Knowing your days were coming to an end, time with family dwindling. How do you piece together an entire life and fit its summation into one service? What would you say? What would you want others to say?

It turns out Roger had the answer to that, too.

You center yourself on simple things and let actions speak for themselves, as eulogies by his son Daniel and close friends Kevin Hickey, Barry Melton and the Rev. Robert Stewart said.

They painted a picture of a God-fearing family man who lived humbly. For Roger, it looked like this: Take your kids to a baseball game. Buy some ice cream, let it melt a little. Hike in the local forest preserve. Go fishing. Watch “The Andy Griffith Show.” Be a good father, a good husband. Try to keep your head on your shoulders, do good work. Lead by example. Devote yourself to a higher cause. Be kind.

And drink some really black, sometimes really old, coffee. Lots of it.

Loved ones said that in planning his own funeral, Roger’s “Type A” way of thinking came into play. No services on Saturday, he forbade. (He didn’t want to ruin anyone’s weekend plans.) No eulogies longer than seven minutes. Don’t wax poetic on his many accomplishments.

If the crowd size Friday was any indication, his life of public service attracted admirers.

I can’t remember exactly when I first met Roger. Sometimes the news beast makes it hard to recall specific interviews. I do remember that he made time for us in the press. That’s an attribute I’m always grateful for, considering we spend a lot of time poking our noses in places we may not be welcomed.

But Roger picked up the phone for us, no matter the time of day. He didn’t stray away from commenting on tough subjects. “A cop’s cop,” Hickey said.

Years ago, I went to Roger’s DeKalb home to interview his wife, Marcia Scott. They welcomed us as graciously as one could when talking to a stranger about personal things.

We wanted to know what life looked like in the Scott house. The story was about the incredible ways they’d opened their home to dozens of children for decades.

While sitting at their dining room table in 2019, Marcia told me she thought fostering children was her “calling.” There are too many kids out there who need safe homes, loving arms, listening ears and open hearts, the Scotts said.

“More than a sheriff” was a theme that wove its way through funeral tributes six years later. I suppose it makes sense that the sum of one’s life, if lived well, inevitably shows up in the people left behind.

A life well lived. A legacy well preserved. A love worth sharing.

“The fact is, this is the life that we’ve chosen,” Roger told me that day at his home.

And so, on a snowy Friday in March, in the eyes of God and all who gathered, Roger Scott was laid to rest.

Kelsey Rettke is the editor of the Daily Chronicle.