In Memoriam
W. Scott Van Alstyne
W. Scott Van Alstyne, emeritus professor of law, died Dec. 10, 2011, at his home in Gainesville at the age of 89. Van Alstyne taught at UF Law from 1973 through 1991.
After serving in World War II as an infantryman in the Pacific Theater, Van Alstyne earned his bachelor’s in history from the University of Buffalo in 1948. He moved on to the University of Wisconsin where he would receive a master’s in history, an LL.B. and S.J.D. While in law school, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Order of the Coif, and served as executive editor of the Wisconsin Law Review.
Van Alstyne went into private practice after law school before first teaching law at the University of Nebraska. He returned to Wisconsin after two years and continued to teach law as an adjunct at the University of Wisconsin while maintaining a private practice, advising government agencies, serving as a member of the Wisconsin Bar Board of Governors and authoring scholarly works.
Colleagues said World War II and his deep knowledge of history helped shape his political beliefs and his approach to the legal profession throughout his life.
Emeritus UF Law Professor Joseph Little forged a bond with Van Alstyne during their time together at UF Law.
“Scott and I frequently discussed history, law and politics both in the law school and elsewhere,” Little said. “In the last few years, these sessions have been focused around box luncheons in his and Marion’s fine new home. In me, Scott found a good listener and sometime critic. In him, I found an ardent, erudite, earnest and always voluble teacher.”
Van Alstyne is survived by his wife of 31 years, Marion; his children from his first marriage, Dr. Gretchen Van Alstyne and Hunter Scott Van Alstyne; and three grandchildren, Lisa, Anna and David Van Alstyne.
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