Scott Amspoker

Scott Amspoker
21 Feb 1957 - 29 Apr 2024

Clubs & Associations

Medallion Dancer

2015 | 10 Year Medallion at Swing Me in St. Louis

Remembrances

It pains me to make this post. Scott Amspoker passed away this morning. My details are sketchy but he was being treated for pneumonia. Scott and I were in the same beginners class together with the Wilde Bunch. He was a good man and will be missed by many. I just can't believe I won't be seeing that smile ever again.
— Georgian Spata

The club is greatly saddened by the loss of one of our club callers this morning - Scott Amspoker. He will be greatly missed!

Our hearts go out to Kris his fellow caller, Scott's family and our square dance family.

Everyone is invited to the dance hall tonight to gather as a family and share our memories of Scott and to be together.
— James Ferguson

Absolutely devastated. My 35-year-long friend and fellow caller Scott Amspoker passed away very unexpectedly this morning from complications from pneumonia. We shared so many experiences through the decades from well before he got interested in two-stepping and square dance through now. What a huge loss.
— Bill Eyler

You can probably get all that information easily from Kris Jensen on his shocking passing. Scott was one of my success stories and had been a friend for decades. I had met him and his partner Allyn Matlack in the late 80s through a gay BBS. We all became friends and met frequently for a Sunday brunch at the Frontier Restaurant. In 1992, I asked Scott to help me with making a recording of "Lights of Albuquerque" for the '92 convention. He had no interest at all in country western music or square dancing, but we did keep in touch after Allyn died from AIDS in the mid 90s. Scott was one of the founders of a software company called BASIS in Albuquerque. He was also the first person I knew that carried a cell phone with him in the late 80s--a huge thing! Scott stopped into the Ranch not long after I started a c/w lesson group there in 2005. He got hooked with two-stepping quickly, much to my surprise, then a year or so later took up square dancing--he was one of my students, and also zipped through that with ease. His first flyin was just before he finished Mainstream, at Peel Off. Not long after, he expressed an interest in learning to call, and like with Kris J, the rest is history.
— Bill Eyler

Very sad to learn that square dance friend Scott Amspoker passed away unexpectedly this morning. I can't make myself believe it. Every square he was in was better because he was in it. He will be missed — I will miss him.
— Steven Homer

Not another one! I've enjoyed dancing with him for many years. Why do we keep losing the good ones?
— Bill Anderson

Oh my God what terrible news! He will certainly be missed.
— Debbi Cretti

This news is so sad. Scott was such a great guy. He'll be missed without a doubt.

Fly High Scott
— Tom Miller

Scott was a great guy and we have many happy memories of spending time with him. This is so sad. What is it with this year??
— Barry Clasper

Damn. Enough already.
— Kathy Zottmann

I am reeling in shock! I met Scott in the late 80's right after I moved to NM, and have many fond memories of the times I spent with him, at breakfast, skiing, dancing, etc. Scott always learned very quickly, and when he finally committed to square dancing and calling, it seemed like he excelled in no time at all, and became one of the best callers in the State of New Mexico. He was loyal, bright and dedicated! We were lucky to have him as one of our home-grown callers for so many years, and I know all of us will miss him and all of his extraordinary talent.
— Tony Horvat

I'm glad that I told him several times how much I enjoyed his company and his calling.
— Aldo Harrison

So sorry to hear of the passing of Scott as I truly enjoyed his calling of squares. He would join Kris at Palo Duro Senior Center to give of his time to call to one square or dance if we were short a dancer. He truly gave of his time in the activity.
— Donna Bauer

Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that. What a sad day to all of us. His smile was so contagious….
— Benny Sevilla

I’ll really miss Scott! We had so many interests in common, and had especially bonded over calling over the years and more recently over the 1965 Ford Thunderbird I bought from him!
— Scott White

We here in Albuquerque are in complete shock and saddened by our loss of a wonderful human being and square dance caller. — Chris Clarke

I am SO sorry to hear this.... oh no. What a loss for our community....
— Ett McAtee

Oh, no! I am shocked and dearly saddened. Scott was such a vibrant presence for and with us. A deep loss for Wilde Bunch and for IAGSDC.
— Rahn Anderson

Oh noooooo ... he was an awesome guy! What a shock!!!!! Cyber hugs
— Deborah Carroll-Jones

So unexpected and sad to hear this. Terrible loss for our community and his friends/family.
— Michael Levy

Oh no. That is so sad. Scott and I started dancing the same year. We met at the Anaheim convention. We could not dance together because at that time, we both danced only boy. We had to wait a year. He will be missed.
— Paul van Houten

I danced with and to Scott four days a week in Albuquerque. He will be sorely missed by all of us.
— Joni Micals

Another huge loss to our square dance family. Scott was a wonderful person and a great caller. We'll all have to bring lots of Kleenex to the Memorial Tip in Durham.
— Pam Clasper

This is a shock for the Rainbeaus as well as the Wilde Bunch -- he was a frequent and much loved guest caller in the years I've been with the Rainbeaus, and probably well before that. May his memory be a blessing in our community.
— Jackie Hoffman

Oh no! This is very shocking news. He was a great dancer and caller. I’m definitely going to miss seeing him at various events.
— Nigel Gentry

Oh No! I got to know Scott a few years back and loved dancing with and to him. Thanks for putting out the word, Bill. What a horrible few weeks it has been losing so many friends and dancers.
— JW Paulson

Still in shock. Last week everything seemed fine and then out of the blue, this. I'm blessed to have known him for twelve years and now it feels like a hole has been carved into my chest. My deepest sympathies and love to you, Scott's family, other Wilde Bunchers, and the entire dancing community!
— James Wenger

I’m stunned like everyone and very sorry for the loss of your close friend. And, just sorry and sad. Disbelief. Such a loss.

Rainbeaus have always looked forward to him driving up and back every year to call for us. Yet another hole in the IAGSDC members’ lives. I’m above my limit of holes.
— Bill Graefe

I met Scott when I met most of the Wilde Bunch, in August of 2022. I was recently divorced, and was happy to meet this community that welcomes so well, with open arms. In fact, it’s in the nature of square dancing that a hand will be extended to you, whether you know what you’re doing or not. I did not know what I was doing, nor have I fully mastered Mainstream, but Scott (and Kris) are patient callers.

I started conferring with Scott before the graduation I was a part of. I wondered if he could call the Madonna song Vogue, as we wanted to have “strike a pose” be a call for the angels who had helped us. He tracked the square dance version down, and I think it was a hit. I suspect Scott was a disco boy, as I was/am a disco girl, because disco songs were a fair share of his repertoire. I have gotten involved in salsa dance, but when I come back to visit, Scott would usually play Vogue for me. It was always a gesture that made me feel good - it was the thing we shared.

I tend to believe our spirits hover around for a few days after they depart this earth, and so I played Vogue today, and thanked him again. Now it will always remind me of him, and his keen wit and generous heart.
— Cynthia Wooley