The school principal who helped preserve his family’s historic cemetery

When elders found themselves no longer able to care for Mutual Memorial Cemetery in Sandy Spring, they turned to a local elementary school principal, Dr. Paul Freedman Scott Jr.

Scott had deep ties to Sandy Spring, a historic community in an area home to Montgomery County’s largest population of free Black people before the Civil War.

It was the land of his ancestors, the land where Scott and his wife built a home and raised five children.

And Scott, who died on Aug. 10 at age 80, could always be relied on to do the right thing.

“He modeled the behavior of the Golden Rule,” said a son, Patrick Scott, also a school principal. “His motto was ‘walk the talk.’ If he was going to say something, he was going to do it.”

Scott was born in Baltimore in 1946, the second child of Paul Freedman Scott Sr. and Effie Ligans Scott, pioneering educators who met while attending what is now Bowie State University.

Scott was born quickly, earning him the lifetime nickname of “Speedy.”

“But that was the last thing he was,” said a sister, Sandra Days. “He was very deliberate, very even-keeled, never did anything in a hurry.”

After graduating from Baltimore City College, Scott attended Fisk University in Nashville, where he met his wife, the former Ann Randol.

After marrying, the couple moved back to Baltimore, where Scott received a master’s degree in education from Towson State University. He later earned a doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

“His peer group was born in segregation and grew up into integration, so they had to be excellent in everything,” said a brother, Michael Scott.

Over a 30-year career with Montgomery County Public Schools, Scott taught social studies at Farquhar Middle School and served as principal of Greenwood Elementary School, among other roles. He also coordinated the Linkages to Learning program, which connected students in need with social services.

Like his father, who was the first Black principal of a Baltimore County public school, Scott broke barriers, becoming the first Black president of the Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals.

“He was very much a chip off my father’s block,” said Michael Scott. “Exceptionally empathetic and loving.”

After his father’s death, Paul Scott became the family patriarch, organizing Christmas parties, cookouts, family vacations and crab feasts.

“He was an easy guy to be around,” said Michael Scott. “He practiced peace. He let stuff go. We had one fight in 50 years, and it was over in five minutes.”

Despite his demanding career, Paul Scott always prioritized spending time with his family, his son said.

“He made all five of us feel like the favorite,” said Patrick Scott.

His father’s devotion was particularly apparent to Patrick Scott as he prepared to fly to Honduras to propose marriage. Paul Scott handed his son a letter to read on the plane that gave him the courage to propose.

“I immediately had the confidence to carry on,” he said. (His wife, Beverly Scott, said yes.)

Michael Scott said he called his father nearly every day to discuss the challenges and joys of being a school principal.

“He was really good at quieting the voice inside that says ‘You can’t’ or ‘You don’t belong,’” Michael Scott said.

After retiring from Montgomery County Public Schools in 2006, Paul Scott enjoyed spending time with his wife of nearly 60 years, playing golf and tennis and attending his eight grandchildren’s performances and games.

But when he heard that the cemetery where his ancestors were buried needed help, he was eager to pitch in.

Since its founding in 1873, Mutual Memorial Cemetery had been maintained by members of Sharp Street United Methodist Church, the county’s oldest Black church, but the aging volunteers reached out to Scott for additional help, said a brother-in-law, John W. Days.

Scott formed a nonprofit to maintain the cemetery in perpetuity, launched a fundraising campaign, obtained a state preservation grant, researched unmarked graves and managed a team of volunteers who cleaned and righted headstones.

Hand-carved headstones, including obelisks and triangles and other unique shapes, mark the final resting places of more than 250 people, including Scott’s father, grandmother and aunts.

On Aug. 20, Scott was buried among them, on land he helped ensure would be preserved for generations to learn of their history.