Scott McCoy was born in Albuquerque on September 24, 1940, and died May 18, 2019, in Rochester, Minn.  He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Jeanne Jayroe McCoy, and his parents. He is survived by his son, Danny, and sister, Sarah Bradley (Tom Clark), both of Albuquerque, and his brother, Terry, of New York City.

Scott graduated from Albuquerque High School in 1958 and was in the Army Signal Corps for three years assigned to the White House during the Kennedy years.  Scott graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1965 with a degree in Fine Arts and appeared in and directed several productions in Albuquerque. He obtained his Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Minnesota in 1967 and, thereafter, became a professional director and actor in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. He served as artistic director for Eastside Theatre and was a co-founder of The Chimera Theatre Company in St. Paul.

Scott returned to Albuquerque in 1972 to attend the University of New Mexico School of Law where he obtained his J.D. in 1975.  He remained active in the local theatre scene primarily as a director and returned full time to his passion in 1984 joining the faculty of the Theatre Arts Department at Mankato State in Minnesota.  After one year, he moved to Oxford, where he was a professor of Theatre Arts at Ole Miss, the producing director of the Festival of Southern Theatre and, ultimately, Chair of the Theatre Department. Scott was instrumental in broadening the understanding of his students in all aspects of theatre and was renowned for his directorial prowess.  Upon retiring from Ole Miss, he and wife Jeanne moved to Rochester.

At Scott’s request, there will be no service.