William Cecil Scott (Scotty) McNutt was born in Bassano, Alberta, on May 7th, 1927.
Scotty was a Saltspring icon. He spent his final 25 years here, and touched many islanders in more ways than one. From the Saltspring Inn to Saltspring Folk Club he did whatever was needed.
Born in Canada, the son of a preacher man, he returned to Northern Ireland while still a baby. He inherited the family farm and farmed it until the Troubles started, and the family moved to Glasgow, Scotland.
Ten years later he finally realized his dream of returning to Canada, where he traveled Alberta as a milk inspector.
He moved to Salt Spring Island where he was able to be himself, in a place which reminded him of home. Scotty was a jack of all trades, working first at the Tides Inn and helping out at the Salt Spring Folk Club. He kept the Creekside buildings in good shape and cared for many estates and gardens on the island. At home and away, he was always fixing this, moving that, solving problems and generally wiling to do the not-so-fun work. After retiring at the age of 80, he travelled twice to South Africa and Lesotho where he discovered that “to walk a long way, you have to go slow.” In his last year he slowed down a great deal but continued to make us all laugh on a daily basis. He passed away at Lady Minto Extended Care, in the care of the exceptional nurses and staff there.
If you look carefully, you can still see him sitting in the sun on the bench above Thrifty’s looking at all the ladies . A celebration of his life is being planned by his family for later in the Fall.
He leaves behind his daughter, Lyn Strand, and son, Gary McNutt (Andrea). Also grandchildren, Dale (Callie), Jason, Emma, Rex and Marly plus great grandchildren, Gavriel, Oisin, and Kessler.
Scotty was proof that “He who laughs, lasts.”
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