Thank you, everyone, for joining us today to celebrate my mother’s life.

I’m going to begin with reading something written on behalf of Barney and Patricia Kenet. We asked them to speak today but unfortunately they weren’t able to make it. So instead I am honored to read this in their absence today.

"Dr. Rachelle Scott was many things to me over the thirty-three years I had the privilege of knowing her.

First, she was my teacher.

Caring for patients in the clinic, performing surgery with steady hands, always purposeful. She was capable of sophisticated diagnoses at the patient’s bedside. She taught mostly by example. She did this without fanfare or self aggrandizement. She was poised. She was steadfast.

Secondly, she was a generous mentor.

As I moved into private practice, I could depend on Dr. Scott to discuss a challenging case or just to share opinions on how best to treat a patient. She was an excellent listener in her quiet, knowing way.

Third, she was... Read more my colleague.

In later years and throughout her illness, I enjoyed inviting Dr. Scott to my office to see patients together. She was especially gifted with children, guiding the parents on how to take care of their eczema she would just say “grease them up!”

And finally, she was my friend. She stayed in touch with me wherever she lived. It was with sadness that I learned about her ongoing health problems. Remarkably she rejected self pity, deflecting her own burdens, but instead asked about me, my practice, my family. Patricia and I fondly remember sharing Thanksgiving dinners with her at our home.

As her illnesses took their toll, her speech became impaired but her mind remained clear. I believe that she would have continued to contribute her experience and insight to the department had her disabilities been accommodated. She was a wise elder, a resource with vast a fund of knowledge.

Rachelle was a sweet and caring person. I fondly remember her working in the clinic holding a cup of coffee in one hand, moving from room to room, still holding the coffee cup for hours, even as it cooled. It was her trademark as was her impish smile.

Despite her hardships, she remained a graceful and grateful individual, feeling blessed for the family she loved, the friends who supported her and the intellect she cherished.

I will miss her very much.

So today, I am saying goodbye to my teacher, colleague and friend with a heavy heart, but happy that I had a large part of my life to know her.

Rest easy, Dr. Scott, you have left a grand legacy behind. We are all better, smarter, kinder for having known you."

Mom was so well loved by her colleagues, friends and family. I honestly am not sure that anyone could be more loved by all than her. Although when the Queen died this week, I thought she might be a close second.

LOVED
Mom was so well loved, I used to feel like she was like an actual celebrity. I remember walking down the street with my mom as early as I can remember and people would run up to my mother and yell “Dr. Scott!, Dr. Scott!” they would also talk for a brief time and when we would walk away I would always ask. “Mom, who was that person?” and nine times out of ten she would reply, “I don’t know?”.

Mom was loved by her patients, colleagues, friends, not just her friends but my friends, my sisters friends and my brothers friends. She was kind to every single person she encountered. Whether they were the security guard at the hospital or the chairman of the department.

KIND
Our house had like this open door policy, that might be because the door was literally open all the time. We never locked it, because someone was always coming by, staying at the house, hanging at the house. We never knew when someone would just drop by and say hi. Mom welcomed everyone in her home, her colleagues weren’t just co-workers. They were an extended family.

Anecdote:
I remember one of our last years in Phipps House, mom in passing diagnosed our doorman. He had a mole that he thought was nothing. Mom saw it one day coming into the building and told him you should probably get that checked out. So he did. Turns out it was cancerous and they caught it early enough that they were able to get rid of the cancer. Our doorman literally told me every night when I came home, how amazing mom was and that she literally saved his life. Every single night, this man would tell me this, and after maybe the fourth or fifth time he told me, it was kind of like “yeah, yeah, yeah”. Tell me something I don’t know. This was a regular for my mom.

That’s what my mom does with her spare time, diagnoses people, she impacts lives, sometimes even saves them. Mom was a doctor to babies, celebrities, burn victims, so many people saw mom and immediately favored her. She loved being a doctor and learning. She never stopped teaching herself about dermatology, for she was always a true student of medicine.

Funny thing is, being a doctor was not what my mother had her sights set on as a kid. She would tell me every chance she could that she wanted to be a scientist. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard my mom say, “I wanted to be a scientist” like becoming a Pediatric Dermatologist was some consolation prize she was awarded instead.

SMART
Mom wasn’t just smart. She was brilliant. I would ask her questions for my schoolwork, trying to get the answers from her for things I would get stuck on. Particularly if I was writing an essay, I would ask mom for help. She would literally give me the answers to all my homework questions out loud, like in a cinch, while she was washing dishes or something. I would quickly try to rewrite everything she said word for word, but she always said it so fast and only once. It’s like she knew I was just going to write exactly what she said and hand it in. Which I guess is why she only said it once.

I would often tell her I was bored, like most children before the internet. Mom’s response would always be the same. “Go read a book, or my favorite, practice your cursive.” Really, mom, who wants to practice cursive? But she did. Mom had the most beautiful handwriting. You would never believe she was a doctor… She would tell me to take Latin as a foreign language. The hardest language to learn in the world, but she was right. I should have taken up Latin.

STRONG
She wanted us all to be doctors. Unfortunately, I think she was the only person who was actually strong enough to become a doctor of medicine. I used to love to get the mail as a little kid, and in the mail would always be these dermatology journals, and I quickly knew that wasn’t going to be my career path of choice. If you’ve ever seen one, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I would ask my mom, “how do you not throw up on your patients?” She would just laugh and say, “you can’t vomit on your patients.” My ten-year-old self thought it was a perfectly logical reaction… So naturally, I chose a profession in sports media.

I may not have become a doctor, but I admire my mother for all that she is to me, to you, and the impact she has left in the world. She was my guiding light. No matter what was happening in my life, she managed to always calm me. She was always supportive and encouraging and really like my best friend. My mom was so much to so many but to me she was my loving, support, kind, brilliant mother who will always be loved and cherished. I hope you join me in keeping her memory alive while she is no longer with us on this physical earth. Read less

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today to celebrate my mother’s life.

I’m going to begin with reading something written on behalf of Barney and Patricia Kenet. We asked them to speak today but unfortunately they weren’t able to make it. So instead I am honored to read this in their absence today.

"Dr. Rachelle Scott was many things to me over the thirty-three years I had the privilege of knowing her.

First, she was my teacher.

Caring for patients in the clinic, performing surgery... Read more with steady hands, always purposeful. She was capable of sophisticated diagnoses at the patient’s bedside. She taught mostly by example. She did this without fanfare or self aggrandizement. She was poised. She was steadfast.

Secondly, she was a generous mentor.

As I moved into private practice, I could depend on Dr. Scott to discuss a challenging case or just to share opinions on how best to treat a patient. She was an excellent listener in her quiet, knowing way.

Third, she was my colleague.

In later years and throughout her illness, I enjoyed inviting Dr. Scott to my office to see patients together. She was especially gifted with children, guiding the parents on how to take care of their eczema she would just say “grease them up!”

And finally, she was my friend. She stayed in touch with me wherever she lived. It was with sadness that I learned about her ongoing health problems. Remarkably she rejected self pity, deflecting her own burdens, but instead asked about me, my practice, my family. Patricia and I fondly remember sharing Thanksgiving dinners with her at our home.

As her illnesses took their toll, her speech became impaired but her mind remained clear. I believe that she would have continued to contribute her experience and insight to the department had her disabilities been accommodated. She was a wise elder, a resource with vast a fund of knowledge.

Rachelle was a sweet and caring person. I fondly remember her working in the clinic holding a cup of coffee in one hand, moving from room to room, still holding the coffee cup for hours, even as it cooled. It was her trademark as was her impish smile.

Despite her hardships, she remained a graceful and grateful individual, feeling blessed for the family she loved, the friends who supported her and the intellect she cherished.

I will miss her very much.

So today, I am saying goodbye to my teacher, colleague and friend with a heavy heart, but happy that I had a large part of my life to know her.

Rest easy, Dr. Scott, you have left a grand legacy behind. We are all better, smarter, kinder for having known you."

Mom was so well loved by her colleagues, friends and family. I honestly am not sure that anyone could be more loved by all than her. Although when the Queen died this week, I thought she might be a close second.

LOVED
Mom was so well loved, I used to feel like she was like an actual celebrity. I remember walking down the street with my mom as early as I can remember and people would run up to my mother and yell “Dr. Scott!, Dr. Scott!” they would also talk for a brief time and when we would walk away I would always ask. “Mom, who was that person?” and nine times out of ten she would reply, “I don’t know?”.

Mom was loved by her patients, colleagues, friends, not just her friends but my friends, my sisters friends and my brothers friends. She was kind to every single person she encountered. Whether they were the security guard at the hospital or the chairman of the department.

KIND
Our house had like this open door policy, that might be because the door was literally open all the time. We never locked it, because someone was always coming by, staying at the house, hanging at the house. We never knew when someone would just drop by and say hi. Mom welcomed everyone in her home, her colleagues weren’t just co-workers. They were an extended family.

Anecdote:
I remember one of our last years in Phipps House, mom in passing diagnosed our doorman. He had a mole that he thought was nothing. Mom saw it one day coming into the building and told him you should probably get that checked out. So he did. Turns out it was cancerous and they caught it early enough that they were able to get rid of the cancer. Our doorman literally told me every night when I came home, how amazing mom was and that she literally saved his life. Every single night, this man would tell me this, and after maybe the fourth or fifth time he told me, it was kind of like “yeah, yeah, yeah”. Tell me something I don’t know. This was a regular for my mom.

That’s what my mom does with her spare time, diagnoses people, she impacts lives, sometimes even saves them. Mom was a doctor to babies, celebrities, burn victims, so many people saw mom and immediately favored her. She loved being a doctor and learning. She never stopped teaching herself about dermatology, for she was always a true student of medicine.

Funny thing is, being a doctor was not what my mother had her sights set on as a kid. She would tell me every chance she could that she wanted to be a scientist. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard my mom say, “I wanted to be a scientist” like becoming a Pediatric Dermatologist was some consolation prize she was awarded instead.

SMART
Mom wasn’t just smart. She was brilliant. I would ask her questions for my schoolwork, trying to get the answers from her for things I would get stuck on. Particularly if I was writing an essay, I would ask mom for help. She would literally give me the answers to all my homework questions out loud, like in a cinch, while she was washing dishes or something. I would quickly try to rewrite everything she said word for word, but she always said it so fast and only once. It’s like she knew I was just going to write exactly what she said and hand it in. Which I guess is why she only said it once.

I would often tell her I was bored, like most children before the internet. Mom’s response would always be the same. “Go read a book, or my favorite, practice your cursive.” Really, mom, who wants to practice cursive? But she did. Mom had the most beautiful handwriting. You would never believe she was a doctor… She would tell me to take Latin as a foreign language. The hardest language to learn in the world, but she was right. I should have taken up Latin.

STRONG
She wanted us all to be doctors. Unfortunately, I think she was the only person who was actually strong enough to become a doctor of medicine. I used to love to get the mail as a little kid, and in the mail would always be these dermatology journals, and I quickly knew that wasn’t going to be my career path of choice. If you’ve ever seen one, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I would ask my mom, “how do you not throw up on your patients?” She would just laugh and say, “you can’t vomit on your patients.” My ten-year-old self thought it was a perfectly logical reaction… So naturally, I chose a profession in sports media.

I may not have become a doctor, but I admire my mother for all that she is to me, to you, and the impact she has left in the world. She was my guiding light. No matter what was happening in my life, she managed to always calm me. She was always supportive and encouraging and really like my best friend. My mom was so much to so many but to me she was my loving, support, kind, brilliant mother who will always be loved and cherished. I hope you join me in keeping her memory alive while she is no longer with us on this physical earth. Read less