Below is a transcript of my remarks about Scott and his last day from his memorial service. I had the great honor of spending that day with him, and since then not a day has past that I haven't thought about it.

-John Graham

I could go on and on about what kind of person Scott was, how his kindness and generosity touched me, and changed me, but I think everybody here already knows this, and was also touched by Scott. Perhaps elevated by him is a better word. He had this way of making you feel much better about yourself when you were around him, no matter what kind of mood you were in.

Instead, I will just talk a little bit about Scott's last day. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together with him on Tuesday, fully enjoying ourselves. Tuesday morning we had talked about going to a local park to play disc golf, which is just like regular golf but using frisbees instead of a ball and clubs. This was something that Scott loved to do. He even carried a worldwide database of disc golf courses on his palm pilot, so that no matter where he found himself, he could always have a place to play. He would always suggest that we go play disc golf. Not being a huge golf or frisbee fan, I would often decline. But like most things with Scott, his passion for the sport was infectious, and I found myself at a local sporting goods store on Tuesday afternoon buying my own set of plastic aerobatic drivers and putters, even though Scott always carried enough discs for three people to play!

We played for almost three hours that day, in the hot sun and set with a beautiful hillside view of the Niagara River as the backdrop. Only about 50% of our time was devoted to bushwhacking for errant throws. Mostly MY errant throws I might add. Of course there were no complaints and no criticism from Scott, it was as if trampling through bug infested swamps looking for a camouflage frisbee was fun. He made it fun, despite hundreds of mosquito bites! I asked Scott to show me his secret to throwing, and he taught me a new technique that would make the discs sail far and stable.

The last hole's tee was blocked by some huge bushes, and required one of Scott's famous tomohawk throws to clear it. This throw went a little too far, and the disc ended up 20 feet above us in a tree. The next 30 minutes would be spent climbing, kicking, grabbing, and finally poking at this tree to release a $4 frisbee from its grips. It wasn't the time that mattered, it was finishing the job that was always important to Scott.

We finished the game, and tallied up our scores. Somehow we had inadvertently forgotten to score one hole, which allowed us to come out looking like quite the pros in the end. Scott was under par, and I was only about 10 over par! Of course neither of us had thought about bringing along water, so we stopped at a convenience store, and bought some Gatorade, remarking that Orange and Lemon-Lime were and always will be the best flavors, although maybe fruit punch too, in a pinch. We drove back to his house, where Robin was patiently waiting for us, and he assembled the ingredients for Jambalaya, which contained pretty much everything that was left in the fridge. Robin put together a fantastic peach cobbler. We had a couple of beers, and sat out on the porch to enjoy the wonderful, mild summer evening as we ate. It was an altogether perfect day.

That evening shortly after 11:00, I received the most terrible phone call of my life. I could tell by Robin's voice that something was terribly wrong. When I arrived at the hospital, my worst fears were confirmed. That night Scott left us in body, but not in spirit. I really believe this. We are all a testimony to his power to reach people. Please, lets live every day remembering him, and trying to live as he did. That's the best that we can do for him.

Robin wished me to convey some feelings for her. She had been thinking about how Scott's last day, and last moments with her couldn't have been any better, and then she realized that it wasn't just that day. . . every day of their relationship had been just like that, perfect and wonderful. She also wished to express that she knows that Scott died with no regrets, and that her only regret is that their time together was not nearly long enough.

July 17, 2004

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