On the morning of October 31, 2016, Scott Dewey Johnson, 67, passed away at home from prostate cancer, with his wife and daughters by his side.

Scott was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on Feb. 24, 1949. He spent his childhood in Arizona, and graduated from West High in Phoenix before joining the army in 1967. During the war he was stationed in Vietnam, and later in Germany, where he learned to ski. After discharge he moved to Kitzbühel, Austria to ski, and met his wife Jean there.

They moved to Flagstaff in 1973 where Scott attended Northern Arizona University; in 1977 he graduated cum laude with a BA in English. He volunteered on the ski patrol at the Arizona Snowbowl, eventually became the patrol director, and helped the ski patrol become one of the first in the country to have paramedics on the mountain.

Scott then became a paramedic trainer and the program director for the EMS division of NACOG. In 1988 the family moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where Scott worked with a team to develop their EMS system, while earning a master's degree at NAU in the summers. He was a lover of languages and learned to read, write, and speak Arabic, German, and Spanish

From 1994 to 2005 Scott was an AP English teacher at American schools in Doha, Qatar; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Bogotá, Colombia. While teaching students to read, write, and think, he also taught them to unicycle and juggle, and coached tennis. After returning to Flagstaff in 2005 Scott retired to remodel his house and ski full time for 11 seasons. He could be seen at the Snowbowl at least five days a week on his old telemark skies with his coffee cup in his hand.

Scott had many passions besides skiing: he earned a black belt in Taekwondo; became a PADI divemaster; wind surfed during his six years in Doha; and unicycled 50 km across Qatar for his 50th birthday. He played the guitar, saxophone, and harmonica. He had a green thumb and everywhere he lived soon became filled with plants. He wrote most days for and with his students, both prose and poetry. He loved to read and shared this love with students around the world.

Scott was preceded in death by his parents, Herb and Anne Johnson of Phoenix and brother-in-law Edward Turner of Flagstaff.

He is survived by his wife and best friend of 43 years, Jean Turner Johnson; daughters Michelle Johnson (George Hollenbeck) and Elizabeth Johnson (Drew Corkill); brother Michael Johnson (Ellyn); four brothers-in-law: Fr. James Turner, Glendale; Tom Turner, Rimrock; John Turner (Chris), Flagstaff; Stephen Turner, Cottonwood; seven nieces and nephews; and his pug Sam and terrier Olive.

The family is having a private celebration of life. There will be a graveside service with military honors at Citizens Cemetery, Flagstaff AZ, at Noon on November 7.

Special thanks to Vista Hospice nurses and staff, as well as Scott's long-term oncologists: Dr. Peter Mathern, Flagstaff; Dr. David Mendelson, Scottsdale; and Dr. Jeffrey Isaacs, Phoenix.

In lieu of flowers please spend some time in nature with your loved ones. Ever the philosopher, Scott always said, "Do the next thing." That is what he's doing now.