CPS guard, CHA officer and sheriff’s deputy Grant Ulysses Scott dies at 72

From the time he was a kid with a paper route, Grant Ulysses Scott worked hard.

“He always had more than one job,” said his daughter, Kimberly Scott-Eskridge.

He worked as a Chicago Housing Authority police officer, as a Cook County sheriff’s deputy, and as a security guard at McCormick Place. He also drove for Purolator armored cars. When he died last Thursday, Mr. Scott, 72, was working as a security guard for the Chicago Public Schools. Students appreciated his encouragement, “giving them the big thumbs up, every day,” his daughter said.

Grant Scott grew up on the West Side. In addition to the paper route of his youth, he worked as a stockboy at a neighborhood grocery store.

He was named after his father, Ulysses Grant Scott. When he joined the Marines, Mr. Scott switched his first name of Ulysses with his easier-to-pronounce middle name, Grant. For a time, he served near the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. To the end of his life, “He carried himself like a Marine. He loved the Marines,” his daughter said.

Mr. Scott had the kind of manners that made people say he was “raised right.” He always held open doors for women and he stood up from his chair when they arrived at the table.

A warm and supportive parent, he sent encouraging texts every day, said his son, Gaylane Scott. When Kimberly and Gaylane were children, he told them, “Be all that you can be; never settle for second,” his daughter said. “He just instilled that.”

And, she said, “He told you every time he got off the phone with you, ‘I love you.’ ’’

“He thought that both she and I could be anything in the world,” said his son. “He would tell me, ‘You’re going to be the next president of the United States.’ These are things I would hear as a young child.’ ’’

“You couldn’t talk to him without him talking about my sister or I,” Gaylane Scott said. “He was very proud.”

Grant Scott kept in shape with the sinuous Chicago dance known as steppin’. Another favorite hobby was connecting with friends and relatives on Facebook.

Mr. Scott loved peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches. “He used to call them ‘Skid Row steak sandwiches,’ ” his son said. He also enjoyed fried chicken, Chinese food, spaghetti and meatballs, and Pepsi.

If Tiger Woods was playing golf on TV, Mr. Scott would sign off from phone callers by saying, “Can’t talk right now, honey, gotta go.”

In addition to his children, Mr. Scott also is survived by his sisters, Christine Haskell, Lula Williams, Barbara Scott Bolton, Rosemary Reeves, Irma Jean Yanney, Denise Goring, and Darlene Scott Odeh; a brother, Jesse Scott; five grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews; and his friend, Cora Kirby.

Visitation is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Leak and Sons Funeral Chapels, 7838 S. Cottage Grove. A wake is scheduled from 6 p.m. Thursday until a 7 p.m. funeral service at Leak and Sons. At the repast, his favorite treat of Hostess chocolate cupcakes will be served.