Roger Morris Scovil

Roger Morris Scovil, age 91, of Atlanta, GA, passed away peacefully at home on Monday September 7, 2020. He was a devoted husband, father, friend, soldier, business leader, mentor, author and all around decent human being. He dedicated his life to mentoring others in the business community and providing for his family to which he was lovingly devoted. Charming, witty, and affable, Roger loved being with people and helping them realize their aspirations.

Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, by loving parents Rose Herbert and Roger Sr., he loved music, singing in a boy choir and church choirs, and playing piano, guitar, and trumpet. He also enjoyed a good joke.

Roger graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Civil Engineering and married MaryEarle Nock of Salisbury, Maryland. They raised 3 children and remained together for 68 years until his passing.

Roger graduated from Officer Candidate School and served with the US Army in Baumholder, Germany. His overseas experience led him to become interested in international business and languages. He first learned German, going on to become proficient enough to conduct business in Spanish, French, as well as German.

His career started out as a laborer in construction for McKoy Helgerson. He went on to serve in a variety of executive positions for Daniel Construction Co., Polysius Corporation and Lockwood-Greene International. His career took the family to live overseas in Puerto Rico, Belgium and Saudi Arabia. He also traveled extensively for business.

Roger’s many interests and hobbies included sailing and woodworking. He was a charter member of the Atlanta International Club and served as President of the Atlanta World Trade Center. He extensively researched his family’s genealogy, publishing “A Scovil Geneology” in 1992. He also authored “Get Ahead: Scovil’s 7 Rules for Success in Management” which outlined his principles for succeeding not only in business, but in all other aspects of life. A key guidepost was “Treat all your clients with respect”, all in line with his dedication to the principle of ethics as a guidepost for living a good life. When he and MaryEarle retired to reside in Canterbury Court, Roger remained active and served as editor of the monthly retirement community newsletter “Canterbury Tales”.

He was dedicated to his wife and family. He is survived by his wife MaryEarle and his 3 children – son Randolph Scovil & his wife Ellen, grandchildren Noah Scovil & Nadene Snell; daughter Frances Scovil & grandchildren Helen Derrick & Max Derrick and daughter Elizabeth (Betty) McKibben & her husband Glenn McKibben, who will all miss him and his sense of humor immensely. He is preceded in death by his parents, Roger Peniston and Rose Scovil; his sister, Rosemary Tolbert, and his brother, John Barclay Scovil.

Private services for the family will be held in the coming week. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to All Saints’ Episcopal Church (634 W Peachtree St NW, Atlanta, GA 30308) or Canterbury Court (3750 Peachtree Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30319).