William Brantley Scott

William Brantley Scott (“Bill”) passed away suddenly on January 31, 2024 at his home.  Home was a fitting place for his final moment as he lived his entire seventy-five years of life within a quarter mile radius on the same street in the same neighborhood in Brevard, North Carolina.   
 
            Born in Brevard on May 12, 1948 to Claiborne Brantley and Christine Saltz Scott, he was the apple of his mother’s eye.  As a child, he spent countless hours running around in Ayers Store which was owned by his uncle Ikey Ayers and later by his mother.            

            He had a need for speed; a desire to live life in the fast lane.  From his early teens he loved cars: working on them, building them, racing them.  While his classmates were at football games, he was in the garage.  Before he finished high school, he spent his Saturday nights racing on dirt tracks in Asheville, Charlotte, and Greenville.  His biggest racing success came on dirt tracks, but he also competed in the ARCA and NASCAR series.  He raced in the Daytona 500 and at most NASCAR tracks.  When he qualified for a NASCAR race that was televised, his mother could not bear to watch.  A YouTube video of his Talladega pit fire in 1987 shows him diving headfirst out of the car’s window as it was engulfed in flames.  He was a daredevil, and the wrecks and explosions only fueled his competitive spirit.  If he wrecked a car one weekend, he spent the next week getting it repaired and ready to race again the following weekend.  

            Racing did not pay the bills, so he operated several businesses over the course of his career including a construction business, auto repair shop, used car lot, and a moving company.  He could build almost anything.  He once designed and built a multicar hauling trailer with no plans other than a simple sketch he doodled on a legal pad.  Instructions were wasted on him.

            Picnicking at Sycamore Flats was a favorite pastime. He also loved going camping, boating, and fishing with his daughter Tracey and his dog Sam. Believing that “Sam” was a good name for a dog, he named his last three dogs Sam. Sam III survives him and will miss him greatly. Sam was his constant loyal companion in the last years of his life, and he adored him. Another thing he loved was oldies music. Nobody has driven as many miles around Transylvania County while listening to oldies music as he did. He drove for the love of driving, not for the destination.  
               
             Bill did things his way, and his way did not always conform with convention or legality.  Expiration dates were meant to be ignored.  Canned goods he collected in preparation of the Y2K hysteria are still in his cabinet.  Speed limits were suggestions.  

            To say he was thrifty is putting it mildly.  The Grocery Outlet was his favorite store.  He dropped an 8-pound jar of mayonnaise that shattered his big toe, but he saved money buying in bulk so he bought another.  He attempted to remove his own tooth with plyers because he was not going to pay a dentist to do something he could do himself.  He never went to a movie theater after taking his daughter to see “E.T.” in 1982 because he believed movie prices were outrageous.  He marched to the beat of his own drum!  Still, he was generous to a fault and had a quick-witted sense of humor.    

            His family often joked that he was a cat with nine lives because he survived several serious auto accidents and medical events that would have taken out a less formidable foe.  For those of us left behind, nine lives were not enough.  As the Four Seasons crooned, “there ain’t no good in our goodbyein’. . . oh, I’m cryin.”  

            He leaves behind his beloved daughters, Kristen Scott Nardone and Tracey Scott, bonus son Bo Hunter, and grandchildren Addison and Avery Nardone, Laelyn Conner, Corey Hunter, and Taylor Hunter.      

            A graveside memorial service will be held at Gillespie-Evergreen Cemetery in Brevard on February 5, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.   

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, 31 Glendale Ave., Asheville, NC 28803.