To the editor,

On December 13, 2017, it will be 15 years since I lost my eldest son Andrew J.K. McClune when he was at Syracuse University. Andrew was a Lockerbie Scholar and was immensely proud of his achievement, as was I. He fell from the seventh floor of Sadler Residence Hall. Why or how, I will never know.

This has once again been an emotional, traumatic year for me. Chancellor Syverud and his wife Dr. Chen quite unexpectedly and very kindly invited me back to visit Syracuse University. I never thought I would ever return to the place where I lost my beautiful eldest boy. However, I now realize why Andrew loved everything about Syracuse, the opportunities the scholarship offered him and why he had so many plans for his future — probably out in the U.S. It was his adventure.

I am immensely honored that he is included in the Rose Laying Ceremony and by a paving stone in the Orange Grove. As a parent who will never come to terms with the loss but one who has — and is trying to live with it — I feel deeply proud that he is honored in this way.

I live on the hill in Lockerbie that overlooks the town, and had only just moved back to Dumfries and Galloway that spring and into my home in the March of 1988. At the Rose Laying Ceremony and Convocation of the Remembrance Scholars last month, meeting some of the families and parents of the students lost on the plane — Pan Am Flight 103 — brought back memories of that dreadful, fateful night and put my loss into perspective. The disaster in Lockerbie and terrible loss of life caused by that awful act of terrorism must never be forgotten. It is sadly all so relevant in the world we live in today.

May I offer my thanks to Chancellor Syverud and Dr. Chen once again and my extended thanks to Doc Mason and his wife Elaine, and Melissa Chessher for all their time, kindness and consideration during my visit to the University this year.

What else can I say but LOOK BACK, ACT FORWARD.

Deborah McClune Scott

Published on December 10, 2017 at 4:24 pm