Donald A. Linscott, Jr., 100

ADAMS, Mass. —

Donald Alson Linscott, Jr, 100, passed away peacefully Monday morning, January 27, 2025, at Blaire House of Tewksbury, in Tewksbury, MA. He was born in Adams, MA on March 27, 1924, the eldest son of the late Donald A. and Ruth E. (Thompson) Linscott.

In the winter of 1934-1935, Don taught himself to ski on the Thunderbolt Trail that the 107th Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed down the steep and dangerous northeast face of Mt. Greylock. By 1940, he and his high school teammates in the Thunderbolt Ski Club and the Ski Runners of Adams were regularly winning races against more skilled and better equipped college teams! In the two years following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Don and 22 of his fellow ski racers from Adams, MA, were the largest group of voluntary enlistees into the U.S. Army’s newly formed 10th Mountain Division then from any other town (per capita) in the United States!

Don graduated from Adams High School with the Class of 1942 and enlisted in the 10th Mountain Division in March 1943. After completing mountain warfare training at Camp Hale, near Leadville, CO, he was selected to attend Infantry Officer Candidate School (IOCS) from which he graduated at the top of his class in January 1945. After marrying his fiancée, the former Grace M. Hinckley from Belmont, MA on February 18th, 2Lt. Linscott was reassigned to the U.S. Army’s 98th Division that was training in Hawaii for the eventual “Normandy-style” invasion of mainland Japan. Following Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945, 1Lt. Linscott assisted Japan’s reconstruction before returning Stateside in October and was honorably discharged from active duty in August 1946. Major Donald Linscott retired in 1967 after a 20+ year career in the Massachusetts National Guard. As of the day he passed away, it’s widely believed Don was the last known World War II 10th Mountain Division veteran living in New England!

Soon after World War II ended, Don began working as a Machine Tool Operator for the Raytheon Corp. in Waltham, MA. In 1948, on learning of Don’s enthusiasm for precision and statistics, Raytheon promoted him to Quality Control Inspector with the promise of future advancement after completing his college degree in a scientific or engineering curriculum. In 1959, Don graduated with his Bachelor’s degree (with honors) in Engineering Management from Northeastern University, and in 1960, became the Quality Control Manager for Magnetron Development and Production at Microwave Associates (later M/A-COM) in Burlington, MA. He returned to Raytheon in the mid-1980’s and retired in 1989 as Quality Assurance Manager for Special Microwave Division Operations (SMDO), Northborough, MA.

In the spring of 1990, after living in Concord, MA for 30 years, he and Grace moved into their newly built retirement home in Alburgh, VT on the northern shore of Lake Champlain. They enjoyed 17 wonderful years together highlighted by trips to Alaska, Europe, Australia, the Caribbean and the Panama Canal before Grace passed away in August 2007. In 2012, Don sold his Vermont home and moved in with his son Bob and his wife Elaine in Dracut, MA, to be closer to his family.

Don was an avid downhill skier and year-round sportsman into his late 80s! In December 2001 at age 77, he carried the Olympic Torch through Burlington, VT supporting the nationwide Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. A life member of the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division, Don was among 200+ Vermont World War II troopers inducted into the Vermont Ski Museum’s Hall of Fame in 2003! He was a member of Corinthian Lodge of Masons A.F. & A.M. in Concord, MA, a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, and a shrewd bridge and cribbage player!

Don is survived by his three children, Robert A. Linscott and his wife Elaine L. (Whitton) of Dracut, MA, Holley A. Linscott of Lenox, MA and Susan M. Cooper and her husband Wallace of Pelham, NH; his grandchildren Cynthia M. Linscott of Dracut, MA, Renee A. Barnes and her husband Rob of Siesta Key, FL, Andrew D. Houle and his wife Melissa of Beverly, MA, Dustin R. Cooper and Dr. Kacey R. Cooper, DVM, both of Pelham, NH; great grandchildren Aidan L. Barnes, Emma Barnes, and Owen Barnes, Elaina G. Houle, Ethan P. Houle; nieces Heather Linscott and Robin Linscott Avery, both of Adams. He was predeceased by his brother, William S. Linscott and his sister-in-law, Patricia (Gilley) Linscott. A graveside ceremony with Military Honors will be held in Bellevue Cemetery, Adams, MA, in June of 2025. In lieu of flowers, Don gratefully requests donations be made in his memory to:

- The 10th Mountain Division Descendants, Inc. Finn-Thornton Scholarship: https://10thmtndivdesc.org/scholarship/

- Wounded Warrior Project: https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/

- Audubon Society: https://act.audubon.org/a/donate

Arrangements are entrusted to PACIOREK FUNERAL HOME, Adams, MA. To leave a message of condolence, please go online to www.paciorekfuneral.com