Biography:

Leslie Hampton Scott passed away peacefully at home on September 13, 2026, at age 99 ½ surrounded by her family and close friends.  She always predicted she wouldn’t reach 100, and she turned out to be right, as usual. 

Leslie was born in Marianna, Arkansas, to Lillian Freeman Hampton and John Pearin Hampton of Lake Village, Arkansas.  There, Leslie spent an idyllic childhood on beautiful Lake Chicot. She graduated Valedictorian from Lakeside High School, where she was a proud Beaver cheerleader and school leader.   At the University of Arkansas, she was a member of the Chi Omega fraternity, living in the Attic at the Chi O house, where those roommates became lifelong friends.

In 1945, prominent business leaders in Lake Village convinced Leslie’s parents to let her represent her hometown in the Miss Arkansas pageant.  A reluctant Leslie Hampton agreed, and to her chagrin – won. She represented Arkansas in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City in 1945.  On the way to compete, officials arranged a blind date for Leslie with the senior Arkansan at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.  Cadet Rusher was on sea duty, so she was paired with the junior cadet and All- American from Smackover, Clyde Scott (Scotty). Later, Leslie wrote her parents that she had met the man she wanted to marry. 

After a short courtship they fell in love and set the date.  That meant Clyde would have to leave the Naval Academy.   With the war having just ended and the military branches downsizing, the decision was made.   One year after they met, the beauty queen and the All-American football player were married.

At the insistence of her parents, who were avid Razorback fans, and the persuasion of Coach John Barnhill, Scotty decided to go to the University of Arkansas.  He brought his young bride to Fayetteville, where they lived for three years. Their two children (Marsha and Steve) were born during this time, with Leslie becoming a full-time mother and wife to a rising star. When Scotty was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, he and Leslie made their home in Lake Village while shuttling back and forth to Philadelphia and later Detroit.

After Scotty’s NFL career ended, he and Leslie stayed briefly in Lake Village and then moved to Little Rock.  It was in Little Rock that Leslie’s Southern charm and beauty combined with her love for community and church made her a popular clubwoman and natural leader.  While her family was always the center of her life, she also found time to be President of the 20^th Century Club; President of Carti Auxiliary; Member of Florence Crittendon Board; Board member of “Our House;” Fundraiser for Hope Lodge; Presbyterian Urban Council; Elder Second Presbyterian Church; Regional Aids Interfaith Network (RAIN) board member; professional model and active Master Gardener.

Scotty was not the only competitor in the Scott family.  Leslie enjoyed many fun-filled years of tennis and golf, widening her circle of friends with each competition. As an avid and very active Master Gardener, Leslie made even more friends. Many of those friends lived in Leslie’s neighborhood and one, Mary Helen Henry, became her beloved honorary daughter.

In her last days, Leslie was supported with loving care guided by the family’s dear friend and other honorary daughter, Tina Wright.  With Tina’s support and the love and friendship of Dr. Lee Archer, along with dear friends and family, Leslie’s final day was filled with tears and laughter and her all-abiding faith that her next chapter would be one of joyful reunion.

Leslie was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Fanchon Hampton Cashion, and her husband of 71 years, Clyde L. Scott as well as her stepmother, Dorothy Janes Hampton.  She is survived by her children, Marsha Scott of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Steve Scott (Shirley) of Maumelle, Arkansas; and their children, Caleb LeFevre (Cory Podielski) of Detroit, Michigan; Christopher LeFevre (Gabrielle) of Atlanta, Georgia; Robert Hampton Scott of Little Rock, Arkansas; Lillian Elizabeth Scott of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Caroline Leslie Scott of Little Rock, Arkansas; great- grandchild Cameron LeFevre and beloved four-legged companion Addie.

A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock, Arkansas 72227. A reception with the family immediately follows in the Peace Garden.  Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be sent in Leslie’s honor to any of the following organizations that she strongly supported:  Second Presbyterian Church Social Justice Fund, Doctors Without Borders, and Out of the Woods Animal Rescue of Arkansas.