Obituary of Scott Elijah

Reverend Scott Eric Elijah fell asleep in death on March 28, 2020. Scott was born in Mineola, New York to Mildred (Scott) and Samuel W. Elijah. He was 57 years old. He was a beloved son, father, grandfather, brother, cousin, brother-in-law, uncle and friend. He was also the senior minister and beloved Pastor of Bethany AME Church in Yonkers, N.Y. From a young age Scott followed his religious calling. He attended Epiphany and Nassau Lutheran elementary schools in the Long Island area of New York. He played football and hockey in junior leagues where he excelled. He later attended Turtle Hook Junior High and graduated from Uniondale High School. Upon graduation, he attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Scott finished his Bachelor of Science degree in organizational management at Nyack College. He then attended Alliance Theological Seminary and earned his Masters of Divinity in Urban Ministries. Scott’s boundless energy and work ethic helped him to finish his college studies while working and succeeding in a number of different work industries. These included securities trading, parcel delivery, customer service, and real estate to name a few. Scott was a certified real estate appraiser and the founder of East Coast Real Estate Appraisers, as well as manager of several real estate properties. Scott was also employed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Transit on the track work emergency response team as a Track Man based out of Parsons Archer Jamaica Station. He was employed there over the last 15 years and took great pride in his work often working overtime. He was a proud member of the Transit Workers Union Local 100, and truly enjoyed his coworkers. One of the great joys of Scott’s life was his strong faith in God and his ministry. Scott began that journey at Bethel AME Church in Freeport, N.Y., where he was encouraged and mentored and served as an assistant minister. He then served as interim pastor at Morris Brown AME Church in Ozone Park, where he led a rebuilding project for a soup kitchen to benefit the community. Scott then was appointed Senior Pastor of Bethany AME Church in Yonkers, N.Y. He enjoyed working with and loved his church community members, as well as the community at large. He was active in community revitalization projects of marginalized areas, as well education opportunities for the economically challenged and the feeding of the hungry. Bishop Gregory Ingram stated “Scott was called “The Pastor of Yonkers” it’s amazing what some people can do in a short period of time. He stated he was gregarious, a wonderful pastor and kept the people and community at his heart.” Scott’s children were truly at the center of his heart. He was the father of three. Ashley Chantal Elijah, Caleb Lloyd Elijah and Cody Ellis Elijah Dumpson. Scott loved to spend time with his children involving them in weekend activities, church, attending their extra curricular activities, encouraging them in their school work ,as well as traveling and vacationing with them. He was extremely proud of them and recognized their talents each in a individual way. He was truly ecstatic to become grandfather to Lucian who affectionately calls him GP. He had fun purchasing Barbie dolls, books, clothes, and cooking sets for her. They will all truly miss him and cherish the memories they have made with him. Scott also cared for his mother Mildred Elijah whom he attended Bethel Church with and made sure she was able to get there when he couldn’t take her. He also had a way of persuading her to do things like take her medicine when she didn’t want to. Scott leaves his children Ashley (William Oakman), Caleb, and Cody and granddaughter Lucian to cherish his memory. As well as his mother Mildred Elijah Bellamy, his brother Samuel Elijah (Miho), his sister Lynne(Darryl) Turner, his nieces and nephews Salim Elijah, Rau Maau Heru Elijah, Lauren (Tim)Wright, Marlin Wright, Dahley Turner, Lyndsey Turner, Saliou MBoup, and Yaay MBoup, his Aunt Eddie Elijah, his Uncle Lloyd Elijah, Allison Stephen, Karine St. Victor, Natasha Brewster and a host of cousins, friends, and his beloved Bethany, Bethel, and Morris Brown AME families. He was preceded in death by his father Samuel W. Elijah Sr, his step-father Arthur Bellamy, his aunts Bernice, Josephine, Clara, Odelphia, Earline, Margaret, and Carmen, his uncle Thomas, his grandmothers Almeeda and Christine, his grandfathers Thomas Elijah and Thomas Scott, and his nephew David Samuel Turner. Acknowledgement From The Family Of Scott Eric Elijah We would like to express our extreme gratitude to all of you who have helped ease the burden in this great tragedy that we have experienced. All of your condolences, kind expressions, cards, offers of assistance, flowers, thoughts, and prayers have helped beyond what you may know. The outpouring of love and support from his family, friends, MTA colleagues, and AME family has been tremendous. He loved you all. His faith and love of God gives us comfort that he is at peace and well taken care of with the promises of God. We pray for the best for all of you and your families.