Scott graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. At the time, he was dating Jeanene Watkins, the daughter of U.S. Senator Arthur V. Watkins. When she categorically stated that she would only marry a returned missionary in an LDS temple, Scott's career plans changed and he applied for missionary service. He was called to serve in the Uruguay Montevideo Mission. It was during his missionary service that Scott was able to fill "all the voids of loneliness" he had felt since his youth. Jeanene graduated in sociology and left the day after graduation for a mission to the northwestern United States. After they both completed their missionary service, they married in the Manti Temple on July 16, 1953.