ST. PETERSBURG — The hot buttery aroma flowing through the kitchen window was often an indication that Addie Mae Scott had placed kneaded flour dough in the oven.
The scent of Momma Scott’s buttermilk biscuits could be smelled for blocks away and often interrupted the neighborhood football game being played in the street. The smell had a way of distracting even the most beautiful spiral pass landing in the hands of one of the neighborhood boys scoring a touchdown, which was marked by a stop sign.
Her biscuits had a signature taste that satisfied your palate and filled your stomach. They were made with quiet love and would be served to all who cared to share them.
“Mrs. Scott was one of the kindness people that you would ever know,” said Michael McCree, one of the men who grew up in the neighborhood. “She was caring, sharing and super friendly. She loved cooking. She’ll be missed.”
Scott was a woman of few words and those that came out of her mouth were elegant, smooth and quiet. She spoke just above a whisper and yet her smile could brighten the dimmest skies.
Born February 22, 1941, in Americus, Ga., to the late Addis and Ella Mae Jones, she was one of six children; four of them preceded her in death. She moved to St. Petersburg in the 1950s and married Thomas Eugene Scott, Sr. in 1958. To this union were born six children: Veronica, Gloria, Thomas, Vincent, Brenda and Alva. Many more grandchildren would follow and they help to make up one happy Scott family.
“My grandmother was a lady of many things. If she couldn’t help, then she’ll give you advice that would help,” said Madrid Scott, a granddaughter who Momma Scott took on as a daughter. “She was such an encourager. There were many times that I didn’t know if I could go on, but her words stay in my head. I’m really going to miss her pushing me to go farther and farther.
Scott was an avid seamstress, cook and gardener. She spent many days in her yard tending to her rose bushes and the many other varieties of plants and flowers. But nothing took the place of her family.
“She was my grandmother, but I’m going to miss her calling me hubby,” said Quentin Scott. “I enjoyed going to the store for her and having her close to me. She was a grandma, father and mother to me. I will always love and miss her dearly. She’s my wifey” Quentin said with a smile.
Scott worked many years as a certified nursing assistant. She enjoyed helping people who were in need; it was her life’s calling. After years working in the medical field and raising six children, she returned to school to advance her studies and obtain additional certifications. A medical diagnosis changed that path. Her final call was March 23, 2016.
Scott was a quiet, kind, encouraging, hardworking, biscuit-making mother, grandmother, friend and neighbor. Now, may the works that she has done, speak for her.
