Margaret Helen Scott's Obituary
Margaret Helen (Claypool) Scott died peacefully at the age of 95 on October 3, 2022. She was
survived by two of her five children, Barbara (Scott) Brandt (spouse Bruce Brandt) and Larry
Scott (spouse Laurie Scott), and a nephew, David Claypool (spouse Terry Claypool), who she
raised for eight years of his life. She had five grandchildren, Sharon Brandt, Paul Brandt (spouse
Jeanne Singer), Lisa (Scott) Wynn (spouse Wade Wynn), Christina (Brandt) Anderson (spouse
Keith Anderson), and David Scott, and ten great grandchildren, Michael Brandt, Andrew Alegre,
Ashley Brandt, Kalie Brandt, Erin Brandt, Dillen Scott, Ethan Anderson, Hudson Wynn, Ryan
Anderson, Harlow Wynn, and many others who called her “Grandma.” She was also survived by
her brother’s wife, Ellen (Claypool) Clausen. She was preceded in death by her husband, Daniel
David Scott, of 37 years and by three of her children, Linda Scott, Danny Scott, and Sharon
Scott.
Margaret Helen Claypool was born on April 2, 1927, in Colorado Springs, Colorado to the
parents of Joseph Reuben Claypool and Theresa Sophia (Richman) Claypool. She had one
sibling, a brother, Wilbur Claypool. Her father abandoned the family in Margaret’s early teens,
leaving her mother as a single parent to support and raise Margaret and Wilbur. In Margaret’s
teen years she was an avid ice skater, practicing at the same venue as, and often alongside, the
Olympic team at the time. In her late teens, Margaret moved to Pasadena, California to live with
her aunt and finish High School.
Margaret’s favorite color was Royal Blue, but she enjoyed any shade in the blue spectrum. She
loved to watch birds through her windows, with her favorite bird being the hummingbird. In her
last home, she watched a “little black bird” each morning through her window. Margaret was
famous for her hugs, which many of you have been recipients of. A friend said of her hugs, “I
learned not to let go until she let go.”
Margaret met her dear friend, Lois (Whittier) McDaniel, while the two of them were in the third
grade. Lois and her family were very much a part of Margaret’s life in her growing up years, and
Lois remained a lifelong friend through their marriages, moves, and children. Lois’s faith in God
is very important to her, and she passed on this faith to both her own children and Margaret’s
children. Margaret is survived by Lois McDaniel.
While Margaret was living in Pasadena, California finishing High School in the early 1940’s, she
met Daniel David Scott, while he was visiting with his brother. Shortly after they met, Daniel
enlisted in the Navy in the Seabees and served in World War II. Margaret worked as a phone
operator for the phone company while Daniel was in the service. They were married on July 20,
1946, after he returned to the States, and they resided in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Children
quickly followed their marriage, and they had five living children in seven and a half years,
along with several miscarriages.
In 1958, they decided to move to California where Daniel had a job lined up in Morro Bay.
When the job fell through, they lived with Margaret’s best friend, Lois McDaniel, her husband,
and three children, in San Diego, California for seven months until Daniel procured work as a
vehicle repairman for the phone company in Escondido, California. After moving to Escondido,
the family was a part of a church plant for the Christian and Missionary Alliance. They attended
and helped grow this church for many years. Daniel eventually got a job at Camp Pendleton
working as a heavy equipment mechanic and retiring from there. In 1969, the first of Margaret
and Daniel’s children, Sharon, died of Lympho-Sarcoma at the age of 14. In 1970, Margaret’s
daughter, Barbara, and her son-in-law, Bruce, named their firstborn baby girl after her daughter
who had died. Margaret and Daniel moved to San Marcos, California in 1976 where one of their
grown adult children, Linda, lived with them. Margaret’s husband, Daniel, passed away from
brain cancer in 1984.
After Daniel died, Margaret continued to live in San Marcos with her daughter, Linda. The
second of Margaret and Daniel’s children, Danny, died in 1996 of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Margaret and her daughter, Linda, spent several years caring for one of her great grandchildren,
Andrew, when he was a baby and small boy. It was Andrew who gave Margaret her name as
“Grandma Choo Choo” which went with her through the years and to her death. Linda was the
third of Margaret and Daniel’s children to die in 2003 of Pneumonia. After losing Linda,
Margaret spent a few years living alone until her son, Larry and his wife, Laurie, moved in to
help her as she aged in years. They cared for her for eight years in her home in San Marcos.
During this time, she began to attend and became a member at Valley Center Community Church
in Valley Center, California. In 2018, it became apparent to the family that Margaret needed care
that the family could not provide, so Barbara sold Margaret’s home and moved her to an assisted
living facility in Escondido, California. Margaret lived in the assisted living facility for exactly
four years, with the last eight months being on hospice care. She died on October 3, 2022, in her
home at the assisted living facility with her daughter, Barbara, at her bedside.
Margaret will be buried alongside her husband and two of her daughters at Oak Hill Memorial
Cemetery in Escondido, California. The graveside service will be private, for family only, at a
date to be determined in the near future. There will be a Celebration of Life service for Margaret
at Valley Center Community Church, 29022 Cole Grade Road in Valley Center, California on
Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 11:00 am, officiated by Pastor Tony J. Suitor and his father,
Pastor H. Tony Suitor. There will be a luncheon reception immediately following the service. All
who knew and loved Margaret are invited to attend the Celebration of Life. The service will be
livestreamed for those who are unable to physically come but would still like to be a part of it. In
lieu of flowers, you may make donations if you wish to the Valley Center Community Church
Building Fund.
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