June 2013
Frank “Scott” Brady, F19147, who served as FMCA national vice president, International Area, from 1988 to 1992, passed away on Saturday, April 6, 2013. He was 80.
Scott was born August 17, 1932, in Montgomery, Alabama, and was a Navy veteran of World War II. He joined the Los Angeles, California, fire department in November 1956 and retired after 25 years of service in June 1982.
During his time as a firefighter, Sportscoach Corporation of America in Chatsworth, California, began building motorhomes. According to Ed Waldheim, longtime friend and president of S.O.I. Motorhome Club, an FMCA chapter, Scott bought one of the first units produced by the company and became friends with Mort Schumann, who worked in product quality control. The company developed the Sportscoach Owners International club and Scott assumed leadership of the factory club in 1975.
When Sportscoach Corporation was sold to Coachmen Industries in 1978, Ed said that Scott had no interest in moving to Indiana, so the two of them went to the company to ask about the future of the owners group. “They literally gave us the club with all the files, and it has been in my office in Glendale ever since, even to this day,” he said. That same year Sportscoach Owners International received its charter from FMCA. Eventually its name was changed to S.O.I. Motorhome Club and its focus to a social and travel chapter. Scott became the primary tour leader and spokesperson for the chapter for more than 30 years. “S.O.I. was his joy, never getting paid for what he loved to do,” Ed said. “He did it so folks would use their motorhomes and enjoy the great outdoors.”
After retiring from the fire department, Scott went to work at Spartan Motors in Charlotte, Michigan, and subsequently started the Spartan Chassis International chapter. He worked for Spartan Motors for 28 years.
Scott was elected national vice president, International Area, in 1988 and served in that capacity until 1992. During his time as a member of the Executive Board, he served on the Membership/Member Services Committee (1988-1992) and the Constitution And Bylaws Committee (1991-1992). Later, he was elected a vice president of the International Area Organization, serving from 1999-2001, and was a member of FMCA’s Technical Advisory Committee from 2003-2006.
Scott was a fixture at FMCA international gatherings as both a family member and as part of the Spartan Chassis support team. He served on FMCA’s Commercial Council in the Chassis Builder category from 2005-2007, and was the council’s vice president in 2007. He also was a member of FMCA’s B R B, Frustrated Maestros Northwest Musical Misfits, and Past National Officers chapters.
Scott and his wife, Wanda, were married on New Year’s Day, 2006, while attending the S.O.I. Motorhome Club’s 25th annual Rose Parade Rally in Santa Anita Park, California. Scott and Wanda are among those listed in the Twenty-Five And Over group of FMCA’s “Membership Club,” having recruited 48 new members to FMCA since Scott joined in 1976.
He was a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and Lutheran Men of Little Mountain, South Carolina, and a former member of Faith Lutheran Church of Vista, California.
Scott is survived by Wanda; daughters Cathy Means Ray, Lynda Keys, and Mary Ann Torres; sons Terry Means, William Smead, Patrick Berry, David Berry, and Michael Berry; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Virginia; and sisters Neva June Dussy and Merle Norrine Johnson.
Scott’s life was celebrated at services in both Little Mountain, South Carolina, and Vista, California. Memorials in his name can be made to the Widows, Orphans, and Disabled Firemen’s Fund, 815 Colorado Blvd., Floor 4, Los Angeles, CA 90041; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 531 Church St., Little Mountain, SC 29075; or Faith Lutheran Church, 700 E. Bobier Drive, Vista, CA 92084.