Honoring the Life and Legacy of
Alan Scott, M.D.
Obituary
Dr. Alan B. Scott died on December 16, 2021, with his wife Jackie Lehmer and two of his daughters by his side. The cause of death was complications from sepsis. He was 89.
Early in his medical career, Alan conducted research on the botulinum toxin and its effect on muscles around the eye. Dr. Scott founded a company called Oculinum to produce a drug by the same name. In 1991 the pharmaceutical company Allergan purchased Dr. Scott’s innovation and renamed it Botox. He was well respected by the international medical community.
In his free time, he enjoyed traveling with his wife Jackie and cooking for family and friends. He was a voracious reader and connoisseur of fine wines. Alan had a sense of humor that livened up any conversation. He shared his knowledge graciously with his colleagues. His dance moves energized family gatherings.
Alan is survived by his wife Jackie Lehmer and his extended family. He was preceded in death by his first wife Ruth Scott.
A tribute service will be held on March 19, 2022. Details and registration can be found below. His family, friends and colleagues loved him and he will be greatly missed.
Prominent publications covering Dr. Scott’s life:
- The New York Times: Alan Scott, Doctor Behind the Medical Use of Botox, Dies at 89
- The Washington Post: Alan Scott, researcher who pioneered medical uses of Botox, dies at 89
- NPR: Alan Scott, the doctor credited with developing Botox for medicine, dies at 89
- The Scientist: Ophthamologist Alan Scott Dies at Age 89
- Healio: Alan B. Scott, MD, inventor of Botox, dies
- Journal of AAPOS: In Memoriam, Alan B. Scott, MD
Dr. Alan Scott Tribute Service &
Online Reception
Recorded Saturday, March 19, 2022
The CPMC Department of Ophthalmology, Pacific Vision Foundation, our partners at Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute and the Scott family invite you to view the virtual tribute service & reception honoring Dr. Alan Scott.
Brought to you by:
The Virtual Celebration of Life for
David Leon Sheets
Recorded Feb 26, 2021
Goodness of God - David Sheets Memorial Choir
This song embodies the way David Sheets lived his life. In every situation, no matter the difficulty, he would proclaim God’s goodness.
David Sheets lived a life devoted to Jesus. He spent the majority of his career as a music minister & choir director in churches around the US. The Sheets family put out a call for anyone who had served with David to join a virtual choir in his honor. What you see here is just a small picture of his legacy impact on the Kingdom of God. We pray this song blesses you and encourages you today.
Slideshow
Photo Gallery
Dr. Alan Scott Tribute Fund
Honoring his legacy in ophthalmology, research, education and care for all
The Dr. Alan Scott Tribute Fund was created to honor his many outstanding contributions to ophthalmology. Dr. Scott dedicated his professional life to improving people’s vision through patient care, teaching, and research. A longtime supporter of the San Francisco-based Pacific Vision Foundation, the Dr. Alan Scott Tribute Fund will sustain his memory by supporting excellence in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus education and patient care.
With my sincere condolences to his family.
A tribute to a wonderful, great man whom others could only appreciate more the more one knew him.
Dear friends and colleagues, and especially the family of Alan B. Scott.
I was truly deeply saddened when I heard about Alan’s passing last week. Alan was such a ‘mensch’. He was a fearless innovator in both the clinical and scientific domains. He was always collegial in any interactions I had with him, or observed. Always friendly and mild-mannered, a gentleman. Alan was always ready with that big smile. I have such fond memories of gatherings at his and Ruth’s ranch in Napa.
It goes without saying that his innovative harnessing of the deadly botulinum toxin for treatment of strabismus, blepharospasm etc, was a breakthrough that opened a whole new line of non-surgical treatment options for patients, including pediatric patients with strabismus.
After Allergan took over, Botox expanded into an almost unimaginable industry of cosmetic application. It is thus no exaggeration to say that Alan’s creativity and scientific/clinical curiosity changed the world.
I will miss Alan. And I send warm hugs to his family and, along with many many colleagues, salute a fond farewell to him.
Sincerely,
Russ Hamer
Rest In Peace, Alan Scott. I was privileged to have learned from you. I will try to apply those pearls of wisdom to my patients in the years to come.
Your bravery and ingenuity have shaped our profession and will continue to touch the lives of many patients. I think about you when I treat a patient with blepharospasm, when I am fortunate to see a former patient of yours who has since moved north to Oregon, when I encounter a difficult strabismus problem and wish I could turn to your erudite words on the pedsophtho list-serve. Thank you also for the laughs and collegiality at the many professional meetings and dinners we have attended together. Remembering your humble smile makes me smile.
Isaac newton said “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” Alan was the giant on whose shoulders so many of us have stood. The world is a better place for his having walked this earth. He is so sorely missed.
Al Scott was a renaissance man. Hard to find a better example.
I have known him my entire life, and an emptiness now sets in. He was like a father to me in my younger days. From bird hunting, to teaching me how to do things, I’ll never forget him.
Carter Collins
Dr Scott was certainly a pioneer in our field, an outstanding physician, & by all accounts an amazing friend & family member.
To me in particular, he will always be the calm, friendly mentor who motioned for me follow him to go outside & to walk around the block in a rare moment of San Francisco sunshine while we sipped a soda & he taught me strabismus surgery, patiently answering all my questions. He smiled easily, encouraged me endlessly, & clearly enjoyed his role as mentor, professor, & friend.
I will miss him dearly.
Much love & respect to his family & closest friends.
Alan Scott charted a unique professional course that he pursued with skill and endurance leading to advances in medicine for all to recognize but only the few can achieve. But his greatest accomplishment may have been his dignity and the respect for others he maintained along with humility and the love of family and friends he displayed. He will be missed but his contributions live on.
Dr. Scott took good care of my eyes for the past 22 years. Not only my eyes, he saved my life.
I was struggling with an unknown illness for nearly 7 years that no other doctors could diagnosed until I had my first appointment with Dr. Scott. He examined my eyes, took a long look at me and told me that I was seriously sick. He then sent me to a neurologist, then a MRI scan showed I had a brain tumor comparable to a large size egg. As a result I had brain surgery then Dr. Scott performed an eye surgery to correct my double vision that was caused by the tumor.
Every visit with Dr. Scott has been a blessing for me, after his examination gave me the confidence that my eyes are healthy. The recent visit with him I asked if he was busy with surgeries, he replied with a smile and said that his hands were still doing what they were supposed to. He truly cared for my health and well being.
I will forever be grateful for Dr. Scott’s excellent medical knowledge and exceptional skills that pulled me out of those depths of suffering and back to life again.
Dr. Scott was the best doctor in the world.
With my sincere gratitude,
Karen
I was so privileged to be invited along with my wife Bobbie to meet up with Alan Scott every January for the last 11 years before Covid. He kindly picked us up at our SF apartment and whisked us to his Marin home where he would have dinner waiting for us or one time we picked up Bob Johnson and went for dinner in Sausalito. One time, on a very cold and foggy day, after Monday Rounds, he drove me in his used BMW to a Vietnamese Restaurant on Polk Street so we could enjoy a nice warm Pho to warm us up. I’ve never yet been able to duplicate that Pho back here in New Jersey but I’m still trying.
I last spoke to Alan last November 4th, just 5 weeks before he died. I had sponsored a Pediatric Lecture at Wills Eye and Joseph Demer was the Guest Lecturer. Of course, Alan knew him quite well and I facilitated Alan being able to virtually attend the 4 hour Session on Zoom. He really enjoyed that opportunity. We got to chat afterwards about the talk. He was so enthusiastic.
For me, there is an emptiness that can’t be filled.
R.I.P, Alan. You were Unique. God Bless him.
I worked with Dr. Scott for almost 12 years, I’ve seen his dedication and passion on what he was doing, he cares for his patients so much. I will forever grateful to him, he was and still is a major part in my career paths. I thank you so much Dr. Scott.
Dr. Scott’s brilliance was matched only by his kindness and humanity. I was fortunate to know him as a resident in Ophthalmology and to operate with him. He was analytical and methodical, traits that made him a superior surgeon and scientist. Over the years I also learned that he was profoundly thoughtful and caring, traits that made him an even greater mentor and physician who was cognizant of the human condition. His passing is a great loss to our community.
Agree with you David. We were blessed to have Alan as a role model all these many years!
When I was a first year Resident ay CPMC I received an invitation to the Scott’s for Helen and me. On the morning of the day, I received a phone call from
Allan that he had JUST taken Ruth, his wife to deliver their next Child, and dinner for that evening was cancelled!
The following morning I received another phone call from Alan telling me dinner was on, Ruth had delivered a girl, Anne! When we went for Dinner Anne was wrapped in a blanket in a small basket in the corner of the room in which we were dining!
To say the Scott’s are pragmatic, would be an under statement! Wayne E. Fung.M.D. San Francisco
allan
David Guyton
Alan, Bob Webster and I always tried to get together for the CPMC Golf Tournament every year for over 25 years. Bob Johnson would often be the fourth as would Jeanette Webster. Occasionally we would get someone with real talent like Dunbar Hoskins to help our chances to come in at least third which we amazingly did one time on our own.
I will always remember his strength even as back issues made it more difficult to play on.
Miss you Alan..
Dr. Alan Brown Scott was a generous revered friend whom we were blessed to have shared good times with for over 50 years. My son, Brian Alan, is his name sake.
Alan Scott’s innovative solutions, based on sound scientific principles, for resolving challenging eye muscle problems were legendary. His generosity for sharing authorship was similarly impressive. With Alan I did research on electromyography in Dwayne Syndrome; anatomical findings and functions of EOM’s in Dwayne Syndrome; and botulinum toxin treatment of blepharospasm.
Alan Scott generously also asked me to teach the strabismus diagnosis management section at the Stanford basic science course with him. I was involved with this for 30 years.
His presence lent much credibility to our “Diagnosis and management of strabismus problems “ lecture tour and information exchange with China in 1980. This was a shared and cherished travel adventure for our 18 members group.
As has been said -‘The comfort of having a friend, like you, may be taken away, but not by that of having had one!’ Good bye, my dear friend and mentor.
Alan was a special person- a mentor, a colleague, and a family friend. In my era we chose which faculty member to assist with our first cataract. I chose Alan. All will agree that he had a highly regarded practice, gave gracious teaching, and did brilliant research. So I’d like to give a few vignettes about Alan other than that.
There will never be anyone quite like Alan Scott. He was a big man in size, heart, and mind. His hands were huge but so steady and skilled. In my opinion, the best strabismus surgeon in SF for nearly a half-century. I did my Peds and strabismus fellowship with Creig Hoyt and Art Jampolsky in 1983. Art always wanted us to spend time with Alan, who he respected as a keen thinker and innovator. I had the honor of watching him inject one of his early patients with botulinum toxin who was brought into the hospital with heart and vital signs monitoring. He actually used an EMG monitor attached to the needle with an alligator clip to identify the muscle before he injected. Anyone who knew Alan had to be impressed with his unbridled energy and his inquiring mind. However, as brilliant as he was in the lab and the clinic, he was down to earth and easy to talk with. He dispensed with formality and could fix almost anything. Rest In Peace dear friend and mentor.
A gentleman and a scholar, Alan Scott exemplified the best in a physician scientist. It is difficult to fit his accomplishments into a typical aspect ratio – Alan’s work and impact exceeds the frame. His research altered the practice of his profession and changed millions of lives for the better. Ever curious, always open to new ideas, Alan will be remembered decades from now as a pioneer and caring doctor. To me he was also, an inspiration, mentor and dear friend.
There is no way to describe my relationship with Alan Scott over the past 50 years we were comrades in medicine and ophthalmology and in golf. What a wonderful human being what a generous individual and what an outstanding person Allen Scott was and his memory will remain with all of us who had the opportunity one time with him and fortunate enough to know him.
I will be in transit in Israel and may not be able to attend but if all possible I will be there and certainly I will be attending in my mind for this tribute to this great individual.
Malcolm Mazow
I was assisting Dr.Scott on a cataract operation at the beginning of my second residency year. He moved aside early in the procedure and said, “you take over.” That was my first cataract operation. How can one ever forger that. This event was just the first of his many generous overtures on my behalf during my ophthalmology training.