History

Don Scott, our beloved founder and director of Hodia, died in a mountain-climbing accident on August 10, 2011 while hiking with friends and family in Wyoming. Our hearts ache from this untimely loss, especially for Don’s wife, Barb, their children, Isaac, David and Sarah, and other family members. But from this day forward – and for generations to come – we celebrate his rich and inspiring life.

Don was 63 years old, but in many ways he lived several lifetimes. He was humanity at its very best – always giving, always helping, always making life better for everyone he touched.

He was well known as a dedicated pediatric nurse and certified diabetes educator who went above and beyond his job duties for 35 years at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center to lovingly care for thousands of newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic children, teaching them and their families how to live successfully with diabetes. But he could never do enough. So, in 1978 he founded Hodia.

As if this wasn’t enough, Don and his wife Barb, a pediatric oncology nurse at St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute, also gave much of their time as volunteer members of the Northwest Medical Team in faraway places such as Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, responding to natural disasters such as earthquakes and famine.

In his “other life”, Don was surprisingly rugged and adventurous – always taking life to the next level. From SCUBA diving to running marathons, from backpacking to mountain-climbing, his boundless passion for people seemed to translate to a boundless passion for living.