Robert Scollon, WWII vet, longtime Holbrook resident, dies at 100

Longtime Holbrook resident Robert Scollon spent each day visiting his wife's grave, bringing hot coffee and tangerines to the grounds crew at the Coram cemetery. He brought his wife's homemade rice pudding to every function, carved wooden cardinals for each member of his family and made name puzzles for his 17 great-grandchildren.

"He touched everyone," said Scollon's daughter Virginia Ehlers, of Port Jefferson.

Scollon died of natural causes on April 24 in Stony Brook at the age of 100.

He was born in Manhattan on Jan. 28, 1926. His family owned and operated a trucking business, which became his lifelong career. Scollon was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945 and stationed in New Jersey at Fort Dix until he was discharged in 1946.

"His job was to muster in those men and women who had seen action, and whenever he told that story, he had such a feeling of guilt. He said he couldn't do enough for them," Ehlers said.

After his time in service, Scollon worked for Mobil Oil Co. as a tractor trailer driver and taught tractor trailer driving after his retirement. Scollon met his wife, Virginia, who died in 2015, while she was working at FAO Schwartz and he was at his father's trucking company. According to his family, Scollon told his wife the day after they met he was going to marry her.

"He absolutely adored my mother, and he missed her every single day of those 11 years" after her death,  Ehlers said of her parents, who married in 1947. The couple moved to Holbrook in 1964, where they raised their daughters, Virginia and Barbara.

According to Ehlers, Scollon was "what every father should be."

"My sister, Barbara, and I always said there was nothing he wouldn't do for us. He lived for his family," she said. "He was old-fashioned in a lot of ways and honest as the day is long. He was just a selfless, generous, hardworking and dedicated husband and father."

As a grandfather, Scollon was adored by his grandchildren.

"He taught all of his grandchildren to drive — he was the expert — and how to play pool and ping-pong," Ehlers said. "He took an interest in everything they did and was extremely proud of them."

Virginia McCaffrey, of Setauket, remembered her grandfather as "caring and generous" and someone who was "a natural-born teacher."

"As a grandfather, he was simply the best. He took every opportunity to teach us, whether it was to drive, play pool or ping-pong, or to respect nature, and he fed every animal that entered his yard," McCaffrey said. "He took interest in everything we did, and he frequently mentioned how proud he was, how much he loved us, and how blessed we all were."

Scollon loved animals, especially birds, woodworking, music and spending time with his family. He and his wife were also very active in their church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Lake Ronkonkoma, where he served as an usher for 35 years.

Granddaughter Allyson Kutchma, of Setauket, said Scollon was "the true definition of a gentleman" and "wildly smart."

"He took time out of the day to make connections with everybody he came across," Kutchma said. "He made you feel so special, whether he was giving you a wink across a busy room, dancing with you at a party," sharing a story from his life, or even telling an occasional off-color joke.

According to Kutchma, nothing gave her grandfather more joy than being with his family.

"I think granddad would want us to appreciate the small details of life," she said. "I want to challenge myself and learn something new, because of him. I want to make people feel special because of him."

In addition to his daughters, as well as McCaffrey and Kutchma, Scollon is survived by five other grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren. A funeral Mass was celebrated April 29 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.