Scott Donaldson

20170801_125332 — Scott Donaldson, posing in front of the Maroon Bells, on his way to the Sturgis 2017 Rally. The Bells, one of the most photographed scenes in Colorado, are a pair of fourteeners near Aspen.

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Scott is Gail Bowman’s uncle (Scott’s sister is Gail’s mother). You’d think that would make Scott an old man. Not so much. He’s Dave’s age: 66. Scott and Dave have known each other more than 50 years, starting when they were students together in Mr. Tebutt’s 9^th-grade wood shop class at Alexander Hamilton Junior High School in Long Beach.

Scott and Dave both went on to Cal State University at Long Beach after high school, and have remained best buddies ever since, often riding their Harleys together.

Scott was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where his father worked in field service with North American Aviation at Eglin Air Force Base. After short stints there and in Grand Forks, North Dakota (brrrr!) the Donaldson family returned to their home city of Long Beach, California. Scott’s lived in Southern California ever since, and now resides in La Habra with his wife of 12 years, Jackie. They’re just a few miles away from the Bowman’s former home in Fullerton.

Together, Scott and Jackie’s merged family of 15 includes six adult children and nine grandchildren, most living in Southern California. Scott’s three children are Kyle, an officer with the Santa Ana Police Department; Shauna, a project manager for HIT Connect in Midlothian, Texas; and Matt, who works in parking operations at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California.

After a first career in grocery retail management, Scott is now a Superintendent in vessel operations for SSA Marine — Stevedoring Services of America — at Terminal C60 in Long Beach. It’s the second-busiest container port in the US. The facility is dedicated to supporting Matson Navigation, providing service to the Hawaiian Islands, Guam and three ports in China.

Scott rides a red 2007 Harley Road King Classic that he wrenches himself. Very handy guy to have around.

Scott rode with me in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. Scott had planned on joining the ride in 2023, but events out of his control caused a change in plans. He joined that ride for five days in Nevada, Arizona and Utah — with wife Jackie, in a Ford pickup truck.

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