In Memory
Scott Dorsey Skillern
May 17, 1924 ~ February 12, 2024 99 Years Old
Dr. Scott Dorsey Skillern was a member of the Greatest Generation, a lifelong resident of South Bend, Indiana, a near lifelong golfer and practicing doctor in the community for five decades. Married to his loving wife, Joyce McCullogh Skillern, for 67 years, he was father to four children and grandfather of five. Scott passed peacefully on February 12, 2024 at 99 years of age.
Scott was born in South Bend on May 17, 1924 to Dr. Penn Gaskell Skillern Jr from Philadelphia – a direct descendant of William Penn – and Elisabeth Valentiner Skillern of Denmark. Scott was the youngest of three children, following older siblings Dr. Penn Gaskell Skillern III and Lisa Skillern Smith. Scott met and married his wife Joyce in 1957 and together they raised four children, Dorsey Skillern Gordon, Scott Skillern, Stacy Skillern Maselli (Michael) and William Penn Skillern (Rachel Hall). He had five grandchildren – Michael Maselli Jr, William Penn Maselli, Melani Maselli, Sandy Maselli and Maude Hall-Skillern.
Scott graduated from James Whitcomb Riley High School in 1942. He volunteered for the US Navy and graduated from Berea College in Kentucky while awaiting his deployment. He served as an Ensign on the aircraft carrier, USS Mindoro, in the Pacific theater. After the war, he earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School where he was the 6 th in a line of Skillerns to graduate. A four-year fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Dermatology followed. After achieving the highest score in the nation on his Dermatology Boards, Scott turned down an offer to stay on staff with the Mayo Clinic and returned to South Bend to establish his practice. He was a cherished medical resource in the South Bend community for over five decades, only ending his practice at the age of 81. Scott benefitted from a supportive life partnership with his wife Joyce who designed and oversaw construction of his office and managed the business side of his practice enabling him to stay focused on providing care for thousandsof patients.
Anyone who knew Scott was aware of his near lifelong love of golf. His mother was both a city and state champion golfer, and Scott followed in her footsteps from an early age. In 1936, at the age of 12, he was featured in the Washington Post as the youngest player to achieve a hole in one that year. This would be his first in a total of eight hole in ones over his career. He played many rounds with his regular partners Ed Wertheimer, Eli Spicer, Bobby Wade, and Bob Van Aman. 82 years after that first newspaper story, he was again written up, this time in the South Bend Tribune, for his continued golfing with new and much younger friends.
For all of his accomplishments Scott was a self-deprecating man who will be remembered for his kind and gentle nature. He was an Eagle Scout and had a lifelong love of the outdoors and animals, especiallythe family’s pets.
Dr. Scott Dorsey Skillern was preceded in death by his parents - Penn Gaskell Skillern, Jr, and Elisabeth Valentiner Skillern, his siblings - Penn Gaskell Skillern III and Lisa Skillern Smith, and his wife - Joyce McCullough Skillern; and he is survived by his children – Dorsey, Scott Jr, Stacy and William- and his grandchildren – Michael Jr, William, Melani, Sandy and Maude.
A service celebrating Scott’s life will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 11:00AM at Providence Home by Fir, 1410 Deer Run Drive, Mishawaka, IN 46545.
02/16/2024 djb
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