Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

December 15, 2025

CHARLOTTE – David Scott Lindsay was born on December 3, 1947.  The only child of Dr. Robert Boyd Lindsay and Mrs. Elizabeth Peden Lindsay, young Scott spent most of his childhood playing sports, roaming the woods and creeks of Chapel Hill, while also enjoying the perks of becoming a lifelong Tarheel fan.  One of those perks arrived early in life: For his birthday one year, his parents hosted a surprise party attended by some members of the 1957 national championship UNC basketball team.

After high school, he attended Hampden-Sydney College and it was during those fun, formative years that he met the love of his life – Margaret Scott Lake.  Long before Sonny & Cher and Captain & Tennille – Scott & Scottie became THE dynamic duo of the late 60’s and married in late June of 1969.  As a young couple, they launched their marriage while living and studying at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.  And over the next twelve years, David, Sarah and Lee were born and became part of their growing family while Scott began his work as an ordained minister within the Presbyterian Church (USA). 

After seminary, he served as an associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church (Charlotte) and then as the pastor of the Little Chapel on the Boardwalk (Wrightsville Beach).   At the ripe young age of 32, Scott was called to serve as the Chaplain at Presbyterian Hospital (now Novant), and it was here that he experienced a multi-decade pastoral career helping and caring for thousands of people in this vital role.  Charlotte was home for the Lindsays – with many happy summer trips made to South Carolina beaches and to the NC mountains of Montreat.     

For someone so incredibly witty and often quite chatty, it was in acts of service where Scott’s love for others showed up most naturally.  In honoring him for his tireless, compassionate care for others, Presbyterian Hospital renamed an employee scholarship, as well as the hospital chapel itself, in his honor.   And during those years as chaplain, his acts of love showed up on the boards of community service agencies he served in Charlotte.   And during retirement -- with Scottie, he derived great satisfaction in donating his time and talent with groups like Bridge Builders Racial Reconciliation Partnership; Bluffton-Jasper Volunteers in Medicine; and with Loaves & Fishes/Nourish Up.  His acts of love also showed up in the almost twenty-year tradition he established with Scottie – filling a bath and a bowl of popcorn for her each evening while he created a delicious, home-cooked meal for the two of them.

Some of Scott’s greatest joy (especially in his retirement years – with many of them spent in Hilton Head) was discovered through the gift of becoming a grandfather.  Each of his grandchildren have an abundance of happy memories with their beloved “Pappy” – including savoring the unique, carefully chosen nicknames he bestowed on each of them, as well as his regular and good-natured attempts to ask his all-time favorite question of each of them:  What is the meaning of life?

For Scott/Dad/Pappy -- the answers to his own question always alternated between the playful and provocative.  But near the end of his life, he wrote these words: “Life is best understood and embraced when we see it as an adventure and journey.  It is never boring -- and it may not be easy – but always will be worthwhile.”  For him, life’s meaning became clearer when able to embrace the journey and adventures of life as a child of God.  He concluded by writing: “I’m Presbyterian; I’m a southerner; I’m a Democrat; I’m a Tarheel fan—but these all pale in comparison to claiming and celebrating an identity as one of God’s own – knowing that those discoveries never stop.”

After a brief illness – and on the morning of Monday, December 15, 2025, with his best friend and beloved wife of 56 years at his side – Scott took the last breath on this part of his journey.  And we believe – with faith and hope – he also took that first breath in the new, ever-unfolding adventure with a loving God.

Scott is survived by his wife, Margaret (Scottie) Lindsay; children, David S. Lindsay, Jr. and his wife, Meredith of Raleigh, NC, Sarah Lindsay Balsley and her husband, Ben of Atlanta, GA and Lee Lindsay Young and her husband, Ben of Atlanta, GA; grandchildren, Hank Lindsay, Eliza Hope Lindsay, Jacob Balsley, Boyd Balsley, Tolliver Young, Madeleine Lemmon and Catherine Lemmon; his brother-in-law, Gilmour Lake and wife, Nancy; nephews and nieces, Charles and Karen Cauthen, London and Skip Pickett, Sheppard Lake, Scott and Piave Lake, Catherine and William Turner, Julia and Andy Shealy; as well as many beloved cousins.  He was predeceased by his parents; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. Julian Lake; brother-in-law, The Reverend Robert J. Lake; sister-in-law, Betty Lake Orr and niece, Elizabeth Cauthen Mclean.

A Celebration of Life will take place at 2:00 PM on Monday, December 22, 2025, at Sardis Presbyterian Church, 6100 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC.  The family will receive friends following the service at the church.  The service will be livestreamed through the church’s YouTube page at:  https://www.youtube.com/c/sardispresbyterianchurch for those unable to attend in person.  

If you’d like to honor Scott and his commitment to serving others, please consider a gift to: The Ophelia Garmon-Brown Community Center/Rally Charlotte, c/o David Lindsay, 3301 Barnstable Court, Raleigh, NC 27612 or to Nourish Up, 901 Carrier Drive, Charlotte, NC 28216.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606.  Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.