Charles Scott of East Northport: High school English teacher and adoring dad
Charles Scott of East Northport with his grandsons in an undated photo. Credit: Ari Scott
Longtime Northport High School English teacher Charles Scott enjoyed spending time with his four daughters. So much so that he loved driving them anywhere they wanted to go.
And that means anywhere.
“I think this little fact helps paint a picture of just what kind of person he was,” said his daughter, Ari Scott, of Manhattan. “Whenever anyone of us needed a ride, he was eager. A lot of people don’t want to go to the airport, they don’t like picking people up. It’s a drag.
"But my dad – we would be on Long Island sometimes, and I would plan on taking the train back to the city at night. He would offer to drive me back to the city. ... That meant a couple of hours in the car with us and I think that was really important to him. He didn’t mind the hassles of traffic or however much he would have to spend on gas.”
Added daughter Shana Dempsey of New City: “Basically, whatever he could offer, be it his time, energy, money, he was there for you 100 percent. Nothing was inconvenient for him. He drove me to Florida so I could go to college just because it meant spending more time with me. He was just fully invested in being the best friend and family member you could have.”
Scott, a resident of East Northport, died on April 1 at 76 of complications from COVID-19, according to his daughters. Scott died at HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston after he fell ill in mid-March at the second home he built in the 1980s in Andes, New York.
Scott taught at Northport High School for more than 30 years as part of a career that spanned half a century. He got the job while still in college at age 22. Scott spent a year in the late 1990s teaching English in China and also taught at Suffolk County Community College, Nassau Community College and Hofstra University.
“He just always loved — loved — teaching,” Dempsey said. “He was incredibly patient. He was just always well-liked and respected.”
Scott is also survived by his daughters Jaaron Scott Ray of San Antonio, Texas, and Kyla Arena of Manhattan; his sister Maureen Anderson of Huntington; and four grandchildren.
The family hopes to hold a celebration of Scott’s life in the future.
“He wants a party, really,” Dempsey said. “We did the same thing for my mom and he saw that and thought it was a good idea. He wants people to remember him with smiles and laughter.”
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
