Scott Douglas Brinton, of Durango, died on Feb. 16 at his home after a two-year battle with neuroendocrine carcinoma. He was 61 years old.Scott was born to Gerald and Lois Brinton on Dec. 8, 1955, in Spokane, Wash. He grew up in numerous places all across the country with his older brother and three younger sisters.
After graduating from Pagosa Springs High School in 1973, he attended Adams State College for one year and then Fort Lewis College, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics. He received his bachelor of science degree in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University in 1978.
He then began working for the Agricultural Engineering Department at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he met his future wife, Marjorie Helling. She accompanied him to Denver and then to Alamosa, Colo., where he worked as an engineer for the Colorado Division of Water Resources.
Scott and Marjorie were married April 25, 1980, on the BootJack Ranch at the foot of Wolf Creek Pass. They moved to Durango in 1982, where he worked for the Colorado Division of Water Resources for the next 30 years. He retired in 2007.
During his retirement, he enjoyed traveling, gardening and cooking. He was an especially passionate volunteer at the Grouse Gulch Aide Station for the Hardrock 100 Endurance Run, for which he received the Motherlode Award in 2016, the highest honor for volunteers.
Scott is survived by his wife of 36 years, Marjorie; daughters Sarah (Joseph) Wheeler of Denver, Erin Brinton, Ph.D, of Pasadena, Calif., and Kimberly (Reid) Garrison, of Warren, Pa; his mother, Lois Brinton, and sisters Elizabeth (Freddy) Martinez, Kathryn (Mark) Young and Sara Brinton, all of Pagosa Springs.
He was preceded in death by infant sister Sarah Jane, nephew Christopher Young, father Gerald Brinton and brother David Brinton.
The family wishes to express their appreciation for the compassion, support and caring shown by their many friends over the past two years of Scott’s life.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church at 2611 Junction St. in Durango, immediately followed by an informal celebration of Scott’s life in the Fellowship Hall.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation at https://netrf.org.
