UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

 June, 2005

Scott T. Davies
November 12, 1960 – June 14, 2005 

Scott Davies, loved cars, scorned pity
Sunday, June 19, 2005 - BY GEORGE BERKIN Star-Ledger Staff

A few years after a pickup truck crash rendered Scott Davies paralyzed from his upper chest down, he entered a drag race for souped-up cars at Raceway Park in Old Bridge Township.

Competing against drivers who had no such impediment, Mr. Davies, who had only limited use of his hands and no lower-body control, went car-to-car with his rivals.

"Nervous?" says his mother, Margaret Davies of Tewksbury Township, recalling the race. "He gave us some heart-stopping moments many times for the things he did."

Mr. Davies, who refused to let the accident that partially paralyzed him at age 24 keep him from an active life in business and sports, died Tuesday. The Milford Borough, Hunterdon County, resident was 44.

A car enthusiast who was rebuilding his third Corvette, Mr. Davies was driving another pickup truck, on his way to pick up a car body, when he died. The cause of his death has not been determined.

By all accounts, Mr. Davies was one persistent individual.

"He was basically pig-headed," said Jim Flachs of Bethlehem Township, a friend who met Mr. Davies in high school. "He was strong-willed. He got it from his mother."

That strong will was put to the test beginning June 20, 1985, when Mr. Davies was thrown from a pickup truck while driving in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington Township.

After being treated at a local hospital, he spent six weeks at Bellevue Hospital in New York and nine months at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange.

With a broken neck, Mr. Davies still had some use of his hands, and he relearned how to feed and dress himself.

Mr. Davies, the oldest of three siblings, was determined even as a youngster.

"It made it a little more difficult when he was a child," his mother said, "but that was what made him the person he turned out to be after the accident."

Within two years, Mr. Davies was back in the work world, operating a Bobcat -- a minibulldozer -- and working at a landscaping business.

In time, Mr. Davies moved into the van-conversion business, which provides transportation to disabled drivers. He became Northeast regional manager for a company that made specialized vans, covering a seven-state territory from Maine to Delaware.

He also started his own two-man business, Wheelchair Getaways, a rental franchise, before selling it. And for the past three years, Mr. Davies was a sales manager for Van Conversion in Bethlehem, Pa.

Mr. Davies was knowledgeable about the industry -- and he was an effective salesman to customers who themselves were disabled.

"If you were going there and the salesman is trying to sell you something," Margaret Davies said, "wouldn't you want to know the person who is selling to you has experienced the same situation?"

About eight years ago, Mr. Davies also realized a longtime dream by building a log home. He supervised the construction of the house, which sits on 2 1/2 acres in Union Township, Hunterdon County. Aside from wider doorways and a ramp --and the logs, of course -- the house seems hardly out of the ordinary.

Born in Summit, Mr. Davies graduated from Voorhees High School, where at 5-foot-8-inches and 150 pounds he played soccer and lacrosse.

During the early 1980s, Mr. Davies served in the Army and was stationed in South Korea. On one occasion, he provided first aid for a fellow soldier who had been shot, his mother said.

In recent years, Mr. Davies got involved in wheelchair sports, especially tennis and rugby. He traveled the country with one rugby team for nearly a dozen years.

Mr. Davies did not object to the words "handicapped" or "disabled." "The word he hated was 'invalid,'" his mother said.

"You didn't want to help him because you'd make him mad," said Flachs, his friend.

In addition to his mother, Mr. Davies is survived by a brother, Jeffrey of Pittstown; a sister, Kelly Wendling of Hillsborough; and his fiancée, Gail Cordell of Alpha.

Eulogy given by Scott's sister, Kelly Wendling
Saturday, June 18, 2005

Scott's obituary - Click to read

I would like to try and say a few things this morning about my brother, Scott, and my father, Hank. I didn’t do this at my father’s funeral almost two years ago because I wasn’t sure I could stand in front of you all and say things that were in my heart, but I’ve regretted it ever since.

Anyone who knew Scott would tell you he did things his way and only his way. He did that all his life much to the dismay of our parents. But the funny thing is I think he got a lot of that from Dad. Scott was very much like him. Of course, that drove Dad nuts. He didn’t want Scott to make all the same mistakes he had; he wanted to be able to tell him “hey, don’t do it that way, I’ve tried and it didn’t work”. But, that wasn’t the way it was going to be played out – Scott had to do it his way.

They were two important men in my life. Both were prime examples of doing things their way and never letting the obstacles of life prevent them from getting it done. There is that saying – Jack of all trades, and Master of none, but when I think back over the years and count the accomplishments between them, I think I can say they were both Jacks of all trades and Masters of all they tried.

Oh, life definitely throws us some curve balls, however being a Davies means that you fall back, regroup, change your game plan and get back on track. They both taught me this. I am a much stronger person because of their examples of strong will, personal responsibility, perseverance, and an incredible love of family. I hope that I can live by their example for my own son, Corey.

Scott had a great love affair with all things that were fast or had power. I can remember many years ago seeing my mother stand in the yard waving at him while he was on the tractor mowing the lawn to slow down, slow down so my father wouldn’t blow a gasket. I think he only slowed down for the first 2 years after his accident in 1985 while making a truly remarkable recovery after a grueling rehabilitation process and then he was back on track. I wonder how many other quads have drag raced down at Englishtown Raceway. He has had many cars and trucks over the years and he wasn’t prejudiced either – Lincoln, Pontiac, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Buick. Scott made many of his personal goals and dreams come true with his fiercely independent attitude and determination.

He also loved the challenge of mastering a new skill. Whether that was relearning to drive, get dressed, the numerous mundane tasks of everyday life or it was figuring out how he was going to operate a Bobcat. Scott would figure it out and 9 times out of 10 our brother, Jeff, was by his side. He would come up with these new ideas – I want to buy a Bobcat – okay so now I have to figure out how to get in it (my brother Jeff), how to drive it – oh that’s the easy part because I can drive, pull, push, back up anything – and how to get out of it (my brother, Jeff). I just heard a funny story the other night. Scott had just added to his collection of toys - new excavating machine. So he and Jeff went to pick it up early one morning, brought it back house and, of course, Scott had to get in it right away and play. So Jeff had Scott over his shoulder, hauled him up the side and into the cab he went. Jeff walked down the lane and found a big old tree stump and said practice on that for a while. I have to go to work, but call me in a bit and I can come back and get you out – Oh I’ll be fine, Scott said. Well, about five hours later he was still digging around that stump and honing his skills on that machine – in his glory.

Scott was a wonderful collaborator and troubleshooter. His desire to live independently fueled his creative process and he brought that perspective to the mobility industry for the last 17 years. He had the innate ability after losing the use of his hands to talk someone through completing a task. He could visualize the problem and then take you step-by-step into what his thought process was to repair it or improve the design to make it better for the next person.

My parents support, strength and love sustained Scott through a very tough time. And then he got to give it back to them ten-fold. I now know the overwhelming sense of pride a parent can have for their children and my parents, Peggy and Hank, were overflowing with it.

I want the kids to know that Grandpa and Uncle Scott were so incredibly proud of all of you and they loved each of you immensely. They both will be in your hearts forever.

Scott was a wonderfully special son and brother. To many, a great friend. He was blessed to have you all in his life, but we were also blessed to have him in ours.

How to Contact us | Quad Rugby Central Index

Home Page | Rugby Calendar | Sports Page | Score Board | USQRA Zone | Files