Scot Michael DeBruler
April 17, 1959 - January 10, 2024
Obituary
SCOT DEBRULER / April 17, 1959 – January 10, 2024
Scot Michael DeBruler passed away unexpectedly at his Seattle home.
Scot, aka “Scooter” was the youngest of Fran and Stan DeBruler’s four children. He was born and raised in Seattle’s Magnolia Bluff neighborhood, attended Briarcliff Elementary, Catherine Blaine JH and, like his parents and siblings, graduated from Queen Anne HS.
To Scot, many things came naturally including music, sports and friendships. His friendships were many, deep and long lasting. Scot’s humor and laughter were infectious. He was “the fun, witty, hilarious and all-around good guy people loved to be with”.
While never formally taught to play keyboard, piano or guitar, he could rip out compositions on Fran’s piano and was a “guitar wizard” and founding member of the band “Nobody”. A 2/4/81 fire at their Magnolia studio destroyed much of the band’s equipment (it was a big story in the Magnolia News). To this day, Scot continued jamming weekly with his band members.
Some mid-late teen friends have shared unforgettable memories with the family. One story featured Scot and his pals discovering and occupying a long-abandoned army ammunition bunker in Fort Lawton (now Discovery Park). Making it their special hideout/ clubhouse, they kept it hidden and secret. But the MPs eventually found them! Arrested? No! Scot and his pals’ personalities and the humorous stories they shared with the MPs resulted in laughs all around with new found friends (suggesting Scot was surely a clone of his dad, Stan).
One of Scot’s Catherine Blaine teachers recently recalled some of the numerous pranks Scot and his buddies pulled off. The funniest incident involved a DEA agent who conducted a drug show-and-tell for Scot’s science class. Mysteriously, the agent’s marijuana sample went missing from his display, never to be seen again. Twenty years later, Scot told the teacher he and his buddies had taken and smoked the pot only to find it so old and dry they couldn’t even inhale without coughing their lungs out.
Scot was an artisan and respected craftsman. Living on Oahu in the early 80s, he designed and built extremely long pews made of Koa wood for an Oahu church. He created a technique for bending and shaping the raw wood. After returning to Seattle, he established his company, A Step Above, to design and build high-end cabinetry. This led to home remodeling and, given his music interest, he built electric guitars.
Scot married Ann Bradford on 6/24/2000. They had no children, doted on their precious dog Max and loved traveling including an unforgettable Icelandic vacation. They lived in their Crown Hill Seattle home until Ann’s passing on 4/7/2022.
He loved children and animals, especially dogs, reading science fiction and Clive Custler, listening to Art Bell’s Coast to Coast. Like the rest of the DeBrulers, he was a terrific skier and tennis player.
Scot, a brother, uncle and cousin and a friend to many. To all who knew him, his passing brought sadness. But also, a sense of gladness for having known him and some hilarious, meaningful memories of a life lived fully.
Scot was preceded in death by his wife, Ann Bradford and his parents, Stan and Fran DeBruler. Scot is survived by his siblings, J., Christine and Gregory, 4 nieces, a nephew and 3 cousins.
A celebration of his life and spreading of his ashes (along with dog Max’s) will be held at a later date.
In memory of Scot, please consider a donation to PAW Shttps://www.paws.org/donate/, Humane Society https://give.seattlehumane.org/site/Donation2?df_id=4443&mfc_pref=T&4443.donation=form1&s_src=donate&_ga=2.211493909.1847317708.1709330123-90574849.1709330123 or Homeward Pet https://www.homewardpet.org/donate-now/.
