Jersey Reds were shocked and deeply saddened to hear news over the weekend that the club's former Chairman Chris Scott had died.
A short statement from his family on Saturday afternoon confirmed that "Chris passed away unexpectedly, but peacefully last night. Thank you for all your kind words and support. A loving father, husband and friend. He will be dearly missed."
'Scotty', who was 64, was Chairman of Jersey RFC from 2002 until 2008. He played a pivotal role in the proposal, backed by club members, to introduce the first professional players into the Island side in 2006, and during his tenure JRFC achieved the first two of the five promotions that eventually brought the club to their current status in the RFU Championship.
Chris was also a former Chairman of the Jersey Rugby Association and founded the International Beach Rugby tournament at St Brelade's Bay that is now a fixture of the Island's summer sporting calendar. He played for JRFC for many years, initially for the 1st XV, including several Siam Cup appearances, and subsequently for the Wanderers, whom he captained in the Nash Cup victory over Guernsey in 2000 and was still making occasional appearances during his time as Chairman. He played a key role in the establishment of Jersey Athletic, the club's amateur 2nd XV, in 2013.
In his professional life, Chris spent 46 years working in the financial services industry. He began his career as an accountant in the 1970s and subsequently worked for HSBC, Royal Bank of Canada, and Royal Bank of Scotland, including a two-year stint in Hong Kong from 1988-90. Most recently, he had worked for Jersey-based investment management company Quilter Cheviot since 2010.
Chris was a devoted family man and was married to Veronica for 35 years. We would like to extend the club's sincere condolences to Veronica, the couple's sons Nick and Antony and the rest of the Scott family. A minute's silence will be held at St Peter this coming Saturday at 3pm prior to the game between Jersey Reds Athletic and Worthing.