Jonathan Randolph Scott

Jonathan Scott, 47, Created Bold Designs, Valued Authenticity, and Lit You Up From Within   

By Margie Fishman

“Dogs > people,” Jonathan Scott plastered on his Facebook wall. 

After all, Jonathan’s two precious pit bulls, Maddie and Iggy, never let him down (apart from when they accidentally body slammed him), were intensely loyal, and demonstrated slobbery unconditional love.

But Jonathan also saved a special place in his orbit for a select group of humans who enriched his life — his steadfast partner and sassy lady from Louisiana, Lauren Abshire; his family; and dear friends who stuck around for decades.

He cultivated an atmosphere “where people could be their true selves,” remembered Jonathan’s younger sister, Courtney Eyster. “He left people feeling better being in his presence.”

Warm and generous, Jonathan held his loved ones — and society at large — to high standards but rewarded them in spades. He scattered Post-its with tender messages like “I love you to the moon and back” in the Philadelphia rowhome that he shared with Lauren, their two dogs, and Silas the (perpetually bothered) cat. 

He cheered his friends’ successes and encouraged them during their bleakest moments, launching into hilarious, meandering narratives. He made it his mission to boost the confidence of others, even as self-doubt overwhelmed him.  

Jonathan’s parents taught him to treat people with kindness and respect at an early age, and he maintained a strong sense of social justice throughout his life. He brought leftover food to the homeless, picked up garbage on his Kensington block (along with monitoring his video doorbell like a true Crime Stopper), and opposed local ordinances that discriminated against bully breeds. An outspoken advocate for marijuana to control his own anxiety, Jonathan pushed for legalizing cannabis to help people with mental and physical challenges, including veterans.  

Blindsided, Jonathan was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in September 2022; he tried to educate people on social media about the importance of early detection. Although he oscillated between optimism and dread throughout his illness, he vowed to keep tasting all that life had to offer for as long as he could, including seared New York strip and 1-900-Ice-Cream. While still on chemo, he went snowboarding on Blue Mountain with his best friend, Lew Thorpe. He celebrated his final birthday with Lauren, Lew and his close friends — less than a day after being discharged from the hospital — watching his beloved Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1.

On the morning of May 27, 2023, Jonathan passed away at home due to complications from a ruthless disease, with Lauren, his consummate caregiver and rock, by his side. In his final days, he was surrounded by family and friends (non-furry and furry alike), and — in typical Jonathan fashion — worried aloud that he wasn’t entertaining them enough. Before he died, he expressed love for his 20-year-old daughter, Haley Scott, whom he admired for her intellect and creativity.

“All the years, all the issues
All the eyes I have looked into
The stages and the love
All comes rushing back at once” — (“Rushing Back” by Flume)

Born on April 8, 1976, Jonathan grew up outside of Wilmington, Delaware, where he and Courtney made mud pies to cool down scorching hot metal slides, took turns wrapping each other in blankets and hurling the other sibling down the stairs, cracked the secret codes of Nintendo games, and modeled their prank calls after The Jerky Boys.

Jonathan was Courtney’s “first friend,” and he christened her newborn head with a concoction of diaper rash cream and baby powder. 

As he got a bit older, Jonathan became more protective of his younger sister: “If any people were picking on me or if I was upset with anything, he wanted to take care of it,” Courtney recalled.

Imaginative and entrepreneurial from an early age, Jonathan benefited from the proximity of his Delaware grandparents, Ileene and John Ishikawa (Nanny and Pop Pop). Nanny taught him how to wrap elegant Christmas gifts and decorate the tree with flair, while Pop Pop explained the intricacies of computer systems.   

Jonathan enjoyed summering in Florida with his other grandparents, Grandpa Charlie and Lorrie Skinner. Charlie nicknamed his grandson “Jona Jona Jing Jing,” and the pair bonded while fishing from Charlie’s boat on the Rainbow River in Dunnellon.   

During the family’s frequent trips to Disney World, Jonathan became fascinated with animation. He drew Mickey Mouse, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh with colored pencils, before graduating to cars, robots, and assorted mechanical components using charcoals or pastels.

Jonathan’s mother, Sandra Scott, nurtured his artistic side, enrolling him in art classes at the Delaware Art Museum and keeping his sketching supplies well-stocked. Jonathan also learned from his mom how to keep a tidy home (Jonathan’s version was immaculate), and how to find joy in baking sweets for others. 

As a toddler, Jonathan exhibited an enduring love for animals, naming the family’s bichon frisé puppy “Brand New.” Later, he rescued three stray cats, including an emaciated one from a tennis court.

“He’s someone who would shoot for the underdog,” Courtney said. “He didn’t want to see anyone disserviced, left out or put down.”

The beach was always Jonathan’s happy place, and it all started with the Thrasher’s fries, briny breeze and lulling waves in Ocean City, Maryland. The family rented a cottage, whose rigid owner left notes reminding the Scotts not to place sticky watermelon on top of the refrigerator or leave soggy towels on windowsills. On their final night, Jonathan and Courtney received one glow stick each and let loose, tossing them up to the stars.   

During the winter months, Jonathan’s father, Richard Scott, taught his son how to ski and Jonathan was a natural. They made special memories on ski trips together in Pennsylvania and New York. 

Jonathan also inherited his dad’s tinkering streak, quickly figuring out how to take apart his grandfather’s old radio to discover its inner workings. 

As a preteen, Jonathan began developing an appreciation for the finer things — from the high-tech gadgets his uncle brought home from his job at Hewlett-Packard, to the trendiest Z. Cavaricci pants and Ron Jon Surf Shop shirts.

Around that time, Jonathan met Lew, who was three years older and had a driver’s license. Lew would pick up Jonathan, then an eighth-grader at St. Matthew’s, in a teal Reliant artistically splattered with purple paint.

The two shared a fondness for the dancing robot emerging from a spaceship at Pulsations Nightclub, and blasting old school rap from car stereos in the parking lot of Alapocas Run State Park. 

“He was pretty much the closest thing I ever had to a brother,” Lew said, adding that Jonathan was the more levelheaded one. “I was a 10 where he was maybe a 7.”

Jonathan introduced Lew to snowboarding and hypnotic drum and bass, and Lew introduced Jonathan to breakdancing power moves like the windmill. (Jonathan preferred to cheer him from the sidelines.) 

Lew cosigned a loan so that Jonathan could purchase his first Lanzar stereo for his prized blue Hyundai Scoupe. A decade later, Jonathan cosigned a loan for Lew to buy designer wheels for his tricked-out truck.  

Although Jonathan was known to hibernate when he had a girlfriend, the two friends always had each other’s backs — even when those backs were banged up from various snowboarding, car and motorcycle accidents over three decades. Sometimes, after taking a tumble, they joke-croaked, “Oh, man, my spleen!” (It was nothing that a couple of cocktails couldn’t solve.) Other times, they were laid up in a hospital bed with broken bones.

They got right back on that bike (or board), chasing the feeling of pure liberation. 

“He turned [snowboarding] into something magical for me,” Lew said. 

“In your arms
I feel so safe and so secure
Everyday is such a perfect day to spend
Alone with you” — (“Follow You Follow Me” by Genesis)

After graduating from Wilmington High School, Jonathan was thrilled to be accepted into the graphic design program at The Art Institute of Philadelphia. Over the years, he had taken odd jobs as a Little Caesars pizza maker, landscaper and florist. Yet, after earning his design degree, he worked as a lead pattern designer for three separate clothing labels in New York, created brand materials for high-end clients such as Rolex, Porsche and Nike, supervised ad production at The Business Ledger in Newark, Delaware, worked in graphic design for a Wilmington card company, various pharmaceutical giants, and more.  

Jonathan and Lauren first met in 2011, after matching on the Zoosk dating site. She was captivated by his ocean blue eyes, shaved head, and trim beard. They began chatting on AOL Instant Messenger, fell into an easy rhythm, and bonded over music, art, computer design, and, of course, Buffalo Wild Wings.  

After a snowstorm derailed their first date plans, they met up another night to dine at Xochitl off South Street and continued the conversation at The Barbary. She was the more talkative one at first, while he was more reserved (but that didn’t last long).

Soon, they began texting nonstop. Within their first few months of dating, while celebrating Jonathan’s birthday at a Rehoboth bed and breakfast, another guest asked how long they had been married.

Jonathan confided in Lew that he loved nothing more than visiting Lauren at her tiny Girard apartment and spending time together.

Separated for a period of several months, Jonathan and Lauren communicated through stacks of letters.

Before long, they had moved into a sleek apartment in Olde Kensington with a sprawling rooftop deck fit for cookouts and fire pits. On Independence Day, Jonathan and Lew (both crouched in the shadows wearing mischievous grins) set off fireworks that crackled across the city skyline.

Lauren expanded Jonathan’s musical horizons with indie pop, country and folk, yet Dieselboy and Odesza reigned supreme. The couple attended more than 100 concerts over their 12 years together.   

They brunched at Memphis Tap and slow danced in the kitchen to Kenny Rogers at night. Jonathan committed to learning Zydeco, after Lauren took him to Buck and Johnny’s Zydeco Breakfast in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

While Jonathan’s festive spirit was never limited to holidays, Christmas involved tuning into “Emmet Otter’s Jug-band Christmas” for the 40th time while simmering chili.

At other times, he could be quick-tempered, struggling to reconcile his complicated past.

“No matter what we fought about or how mad we ever got, we knew we loved each other,” Lauren said.

“Deep down inside I know that he wanted to be better,” Lew said of his best friend. “And I know that was all because of her.” 

Jonathan found a certain peace in nature, whether lounging with Lauren on the beach in Vieques, Puerto Rico, hiking along the Wissahickon Creek or camping in Cape Henlopen State Park.

After moving into their Kensington home, he attempted to make their backyard more of a getaway, jackhammering concrete, hauling in soil, laying sod, and lining their fence with cheerful plants. When they were inside, Jonathan preferred binging on a combination of “Jurassic Park,” “Star Wars,” “Ghostbusters,” and the “Destiny” video game series.

In recent years, Jonathan grew weary of Philly’s abrasive personalities, and wanted to relocate with Lauren to a sleepy beach town. They also discussed getting married and building a forever home on Lauren’s family property in Sunset, Louisiana. 

The couple had already established Pushpin Creative, a freelance business that specialized in web design, social media integration and email marketing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jonathan started Peak Tweaks, offering color and light modifications, repairs, and replacement batteries for vaping devices. After researching the reverse engineering process online, he amassed more than 330 clients and 7,000 followers in less than three years.  

“He liked solving problems,” Lauren said. “He liked being able to fix things and find a solution.”

What he didn’t like were the incessant client demands and endless deadlines. Jonathan toyed with the idea of hiring more people; he toyed with the idea of selling it all.

His diagnosis made that decision for him. Although Jonathan had hoped to spend his remaining days/weeks/months traveling to Ireland, visiting the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, or darting across the urban landscape on his custom electric bike, he took comfort in knowing that the person who grounded him the most was by his side. 

Jonathan joked that “he was going to watch over me or haunt me,” Lauren remembered.

Either way, he knew they’d always be together.

***          

Jonathan is survived by his life partner Lauren Abshire; his daughter Haley Scott; his mother Sandra Scott; his father Richard Scott and stepmother Diane; his sister Courtney Eyster and brother-in-law Mitch; his stepsister Chrissy Erbicella, brother-in-law Mike and their son Anthony; and his extended family and friends whom he loved dearly. His celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 3 at Hubert M. McBride Funeral Home, 2357 E. Cumberland St. in Philadelphia. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Philly Bully Team (a bully breed rescue organization) or Project HOME (a nonprofit organization focused on breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia).

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jonathan Randolph Scott, please visit our floral store.