There will be a memorial service in the spring at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis. Donations in Raiford’s name may be made to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra or a charity of your choice.

Raiford C. Scott, 103, died peacefully of old age in her home at American Village in Indianapolis on December 29, 2014.

She was born Margaret Raiford Cooper on October 14, 1911, in Gainesville, GA, to Furman Lee Cooper and Annie William DuBard. From early childhood she was called “Raiford” and continued to use that name for the rest of her life. She grew up attending grade schools in Greenville, SC, and graduated from Winthrop College with a degree in Physics. After teaching for one year, she decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Architecture at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, from which she graduated in 1937. Shortly thereafter, she became the first registered female architect in South Carolina.

During World War II she worked as a draftsman for various engineering firms which were constructing war-related buildings, including gunpowder and shell-loading plants. She also worked for Fairchild Aircraft, calculating the number of rivets needed for their planes. These jobs required frequent moves to and from Florida, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and many places in between.

One of the only other women architects working with Raiford was Lillian Scott Leenhouts. They struck up a friendship and frequently moved on to other projects together. On September 10, 1945, in Greenville, SC, Raiford married Lillian’s brother, Ronald Fairbanks Scott, a civil engineer & city planner who was serving in the Army Air Corps as a flight instructor. Eventually moving to North Carolina, they raised four children in Greensboro and Raleigh. Although Raiford stopped working outside of the home after her marriage, she did design both houses in which the family lived, returning to work part-time in an architectural office when her children were older. After the death of her husband, she moved from North Carolina to American Village in Indianapolis in 1990.

Raiford is survived by one daughter, Lauren Scott Mallory (Hampton) of Pittsburgh, PA; two sons, Beverly (Sylvia Patterson) Scott, and Perry (Lisa Bent) Scott, both of Indianapolis; seven grandchildren, Claire Mallory, Evan Mallory, Alison Moffett, Jonathan Scott, Robin Scott, Aaron Scott, and Brian Scott; one niece, Robin Leenhouts of Milwaukee, WI; one nephew, Richard Jacobson (Donna Sair) of Annandale, VA; and one son-in-law, Kenneth Moffett (Cindy Robinson) of Knoxville, TN. Raiford was predeceased by her husband in 1988; her sister, Helen Cooper Jacobson in 1999; and her daughter, Marian Scott Moffett in 2004.

The family would like to thank all the wonderful caregivers of GreatCare, who helped so much in Raiford’s last months. We also gratefully acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Susan Tolbert, Arleene Mastin and Pam Flahive over the last several years.