Jenni Lynn

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Jennifer Scott was fortunately surrounded with a loving and supportive family from a young age. The eldest of five children with an auto worker father and a postal worker mother, she learned a lot from a strong female role model right in her own home.

“I had a lot of responsibility as the oldest child. But my mother could do amazing things,” Jennifer says. “She went to night school so we could do better. She gave us a foundation of striving. She always wanted better for us. She was the strength of the family.” From her father, Jennifer says she got her “drive and ambition.”

Growing up, Jennifer was an astute and attentive student, with a love for English and literature that she would carry well into her adult years. She played bass fiddle and then cello in her school band, at one point performing with the Indiana Symphony Orchestra. Though they were not exactly the easiest of instruments to transport.

“I would have to carry that big bass home back and forth. I was embarrassed. Nobody else did that—I felt weird!” Jennifer laughs. “But I was always trying to make my mom and dad proud of me.” She later attended Indiana University with thoughts of joining the Peace Corps or becoming a social worker.

By the age of 22, Jennifer was married with a son, and the family moved to Los Angeles, California. “Just seeing the palm trees – it was a lot different than the Midwest!” she remembers. She also had a daughter, but then found herself living as a single mom trying to raise her children while making ends meet.

Jennifer and her two children then moved to Texas, where Jennifer had family members already living. They settled in Arlington, near the big city of Dallas. “There was starting to be some gang violence where we were in California, and I had two children in school I wanted to protect,” she explains.

In 1990, she remarried to Howard Scott, the co-founder/singer/guitarist for the well-known rock-funk band WAR (“Low Rider,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” “The Cisco Kid”) and became a stepmom to his four children.

Over the ensuing years, while being a full-time mom, Jennifer also pursued a number of business interests including opening a clothing store and then selling personalized T-shirts and polo shirts. She was also employed as a case worker at a child abuse center, but then entered the medical field and worked as an electroencephalogram (EEG) technician for the rest of her career.

And while she had attended multiple universities, Jennifer never actually graduated. That item was checked off her to-do list in 2016 when she finally earned her Associate’s Degree in Business.

Now the grandparents and also great-grandparents to a gaggle of young adults and children, Jennifer and Howard still live in Arlington, where their home is the epicenter for many family gatherings. In fact, there’s a plaque above the door that says “Scott Manor. Great Fun, Memories, and Laughs.”

And when her family does gather, there’s one thing that is absolutely guaranteed for everyone in addition to the three things promised on that sign.

“If you’re eating here,” she laughs. “You’re going to have something that’s vegan!”

  —Bob Ruggiero