Scott Martin Friesner (born November 7, 1954 in Pontiac, MI, aged 71) passed from this world on July 9th, 2026, his 43rd wedding anniversary, and began another journey, a “launching into the region of the strange Untried … the first salutation to the possibilities of the immense Remote, the Wild, the Watery, the Unshored…” (Melville, Moby Dick). Scott navigated a long and complicated experience with Lewy Body Dementia, which left him in the expert, empathic care of the staff of North Woods Village since 2020, and they have the eternal thanks of his family and friends.

Scott grew up in Pontiac MI, playing guitar and pitching baseball (both lifetime passions), and graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1977 with a Bachelor’s in English. There he met his future beloved wife, best partner and whole heart of 43 years, Suzanne Friesner (nee Farley). After academic engagements in Taiwan and graduate work at the University of Michigan and McGill University in Montreal, Scott and his growing family relocated back to Kalamazoo in 1986, where Scott took a faculty position at his alma mater and dedicated himself to the community he would call home for the remainder of his life.

Beginning in the early 90s, Scott began a long professional relationship with Western Michigan University’s Lee Honors College and initiated the growth and evolution of Kalamazoo’s Academically Talented Youth Program (ATYP), where he was honored as a “Significant Educator” by literally too many students to count, including his daughter Lenya Friesner.

Indeed, beyond his impact on family and friends, his legacy is most clearly measured by his long teaching impact on thousands of students. From teaching those struggling to write decently to inspiring other writers to take up his profession and dig deeply into our world and culture.

Beyond academic endeavors, Scott contributed to the local Kalamazoo music scene through membership in numerous bands, cutting a figure of the wild-haired multi-instrumentalist elder, and through his partnership with local icon Flipside Records in the 90s until its closure. He also avidly supported his friends in music and the arts, contributing to the career renaissance of legendary music and counter-culture photographer Leni Sinclair, the visibility of indigenous poet Gordan Henry J, and Michigan improvisational jazz ensemble the Northwoods Improvisors.

Scott had an insistent, infectious and reciprocal habit, in that his passions became yours, and your passions inspired his imagination in equal measure.

In later years, Scott’s love of nature took center stage, as “His home was in the garden/Dirt underneath his nails and sweat on his brow/Brown from the sun, blistered from the labor” (Suzanne Friesner, Poem for Scott). He took inspiration from home, family, and Michigan nature.

But his heart always and inexorably lay with his partner in all, Suzanne. She grounded and encouraged his varied flights of engagement with equal passion, adding practical perspective, dusky vocals and often ribald humor. Later, that focused love, encouragement and support echoed through his precocious daughter Lenya as well; his torch bearer, his devoted daughter, and her own woman in significant ways. To his family, we can only offer hope, friendship and solidarity:

Now, there's a beautiful river in the valley ahead

There, 'neath the oak's bough, soon, we will be wed

Should we lose each other in the shadow of the evening trees

I'll wait for you. And should I fall behind, wait for me

(Bruce Springsteen, If I Should Fall Behind)

Scott is survived by his wife of 43 years, Suzanne Friesner of Kalamazoo MI, daughter Lenya Friesner (Chau Pham) of Chicago IL; sister Lori Friesner (Mike Andrews) of Fenton, MI; and hundreds of friends and former students who maintain his legacy. Scott was preceded in death by his parents Robert K. and Lois J. (nee Martin) Friesner, and brother, Todd Friesner.

You who choose to lead, must follow

But if you fall, you fall alone

If you should stand, then who's to guide you?

If I knew the way, I would take you home

(Grateful Dead, Ripple)

In lieu of flowers, Scott’s family would appreciate donations to the World Wildlife Fund in Scott’s honor.