Gordon G. Scott, a Marine combat veteran who was the first dean of boys at McLane High and an assistant superintendent of Fresno Unified School District, died Thursday. He was 89.

Mr. Scott had been in declining health and spent his last days at the Apricot Mornings residential home in Clovis.

A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Mr. Scott believed he was helping children by being a disciplinarian, said his son, Mark Scott, city manager of Fresno.

"He really cared about the welfare of children," Scott said. "He knew how to be tough and he did it well."

The youngest of six brothers, Mr. Scott was born in Clearbrook, Minn. His parents, Andy and Crissie Scott, ran a small downtown coffee shop in St. Paul during the Great Depression.

After his father's death in 1936, Mr. Scott and his mother moved to Wenatchee, Wash. Two years later, they followed his older brothers to Fresno. Mr. Scott lived near Dickey Playground and graduated from Fresno Tech High School.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 1942 and served as an officer in the Pacific theater with the 3rd Marine Infantry Division. He saw combat on Iwo Jima.

He later attended Fresno State College, where he joined the Mu Alpha Delta fraternity, worked on the college newspaper and lettered in baseball. In 1947 he graduated with a degree in journalism. The next year, he earned his teaching credential and began his career at Longfellow Junior High, a southeast Fresno school that closed in the 1960s.

In January 1949, he married Carol Ann Van Tuyl, an art student at Fresno State College. They had two sons.

Mr. Scott was teaching journalism and photography at Fresno Junior College when the U.S. government ordered him back to active duty in 1951. He spent nearly a year in the war zone of Korea before being discharged with the rank of major. He entered the Marine Corps reserves and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He became the first dean of boys at McLane High School in 1959. "That was the hardest job of any I've held. But it also was valuable training," Mr. Scott said in a 1973 interview. He later was the school's vice principal for nine years before becoming a Fresno Unified administrator.

In 1980, he retired after serving as assistant superintendent for three years.

Mr. Scott was a well-known sports referee, umpire and wedding photographer, his son said. He loved playing poker and rooting for Fresno State and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his spare time, he marveled at Fresno's historic buildings and got angry when they were torn down, his son said.

"He loved Fresno," Mark Scott said.

Gordon Glenn Scott

Born: Jan. 12, 1923

Died: Nov. 8, 2012

Occupation: Retired Fresno educator

Survivors: wife Carol; sons Mark Scott of Fresno and Glenn Scott of Elon, N.C.; three grandchildren

Memorial services: 2 p.m. Tuesday, Fort Washington Country Club

Remembrance: Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2425 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817

The reporter can be reached at (559) 441-6434, plopez@fresnobee.com or @beecourts on Twitter.