Almost 300 people attended a celebration of life Saturday for Marnie Scott, a Sault Ste. who died last month in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Speaking on Saturday at a celebration of the life of his late wife Marnie, Joe Scott recalled a time more than three decades ago when they were both teenagers attending Bawating Collegiate and Vocational School.
Marnie and Joe have been best friends for four years when Joe has a serious motorcycle accident.
He spent a year recovering in hospital and at home.
Every day of that year, Marnie brought him his homework and sat down to write her own next to him.
“I was a fool and didn’t realize she was interested for the first few years,” he tells SooToday.
“At the beginning of our relationship together, I had a bike accident that was life-threatening. It was the catalyst that cemented our purpose in life,” Joe told nearly 300 friends at Bible Fellowship Church on Landslide Road.
“We realized that life is short and God has a purpose for us. You have to do it. You have to act so you don’t sit on the sidelines anymore.”
“As a family, we have always lived this way…Whether it was backpacking through Europe, Africa and the Middle East, bravely teaching in local church programs, pursuing justice for those in need, moving to the other side of the planet to help of the chased or feed the street dogs.”
Their passion for service took the Scott family and their daughters Kiera and Maya from Sault Ste. Marie in Thailand, where they lead the Victory Bible Academy, a ministry of Christian Freedom International, and the Thailand Growth and Opportunity Foundation.
Marnie died in this country on June 18 when her bicycle was hit by a pickup truck.
“She knew there was always someone in need, someone with a lesson to learn or someone who needed help with whatever they were going through,” Joe said Saturday.
“She never settled for good enough, not in fitness, not in faith, not in cycling, not in love.”
Their daughters have inherited this approach to life.
“Kiera and Maia have always chased life instead of letting it drift by. You don’t live life sitting on the couch. You go out there and do it. Sometimes these lessons hurt. Sometimes they seem unbearable. Sometimes we’re reminded that we can’t do this alone.”
“Now it’s time for Maya and Kiera to stay in Canada. I’m going back to Thailand alone.”
“They will work in their own ministries, their own education and their own path. It will not be easy. It’s crazy for most kids to think about moving to the other side of the planet from their parents, but I have no worries about my girls. They have that.”
As for Marnie, Joe added: “She never wasted a moment in her life. She wouldn’t want you to either. Pursue life, live it, embrace God’s beautiful creation and be kind to one another.”
Brent Myers, president of Front Royal, Virginia-based Christian Freedom International, sent a message that described Marnie’s passion for teaching at Victory Bible Academy in Mae Sot, Thailand.
“I can still see her animated gestures standing there … emphasizing the truth she was sharing,” Myers wrote.
“Life was a creative adventure for Marnie Scott. She turned the broken into beauty,” according to the Christian Freedom International website.
“Marnie nurtured dirt into thriving gardens. Blank pages in art pictures and poetic stories. Teaching in life-changing mentoring.”
The school is near Thailand’s border with Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), which is currently a global hot spot due to political tensions and a high risk of civil unrest.
The school educates students from refugee camps and impoverished villages in Myanmar.
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