In Memoriam: Community gathers to remember Craig Scott inside his 40-year-old Wilmette shop

“He knew everybody,” remembered Craig Scott’s longtime employee Miguel Malpartida. “He could remember everybody’s name. People loved the guy.”

That was evident on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 11, when a legion of friends and business associates congregated at the office of Craig Scott Opticians, 1146 Central Ave., in Wilmette for a two-hour community celebration of his life.

Born on Oct. 20, 1957 in Mount Prospect, Scott died of pancreatic cancer on Oct. 29 at Glenbrook Hospital. He was 69.

“He was my big brother,” said Anne Conant, of Glenview. “We moved (from the Chicago metropolitan area) to Detroit and he went to high school there. We moved back here one at a time starting in the late 1990s.

“His pride and joy was this business. He poured his heart and soul into this business

”He was kind, he was compassionate and he had a very dry sense of humor.”

According to Conant, Scott did some community college work and then apprenticed before going on to establish his very successful business. In addition to Wilmette, which opened in 1987, he had locations in Evanston and Chicago before making the Central Avenue location his only location.

“We were in the business since I was a kid,” said younger brother Jeff, who lives in Oregon, Wisconsin. “He loved taking care of people and being a part of the community.”

In addition to training Jeff, Craig Scott trained Conant, another brother, Brian, of Lake Bluff, and Malpartida, who lives in Streamwood.

Conant retired six years ago but will return to the office “to help Miguel, doing whatever he needs,” now that Malpartida is taking over the practice.

Malpartida was managing a wholesale laboratory when he met Scott in 2001 and a few years later he went to work for the Wilmette optician.

Lisa Verderber, of Deerfield is a pediatric ophthalmologist who had a practice in Wilmette for a quarter of a century before moving to a Glenview location in 2025.

“I referred patients to Craig for more than 25 years,” she said. “He was the only optician in Wilmette to whom I ever referred patients.”

Eye doctors Andrea Honigsblum and Amy Cunningham, both of whom live in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, now practice in collaboration with Verdberber in Glenview, and they too enjoyed a long and happy business relationship with Scott.

“We met him through his optician practice and in the last five years or so we became good friends,” Cunningham said.

Scott had a gift for making friends quickly.

“My family was friendly with him and I met him in 2025,” remembered Steve Bynum, of Skokie. “He was a wonderful guy. I found him to be insightful with a very open mind. It was a pleasure to know him. I admired how hard he fought [after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer].”

Several other tributes can be found attached to Scott’s online obituary at Legacy.com.

“He was a very special man,” John and Sarabess Cahill posted.

“He will be forever loved and missed,” wrote Anne Swartz.

In addition to his sister Anne Conant and brothers Jeff Scott and Brian Scott, Craig is survived by his son Ian and daughter-in-law Cine of Plano, Texas; beloved grandchildren Vaughn and Lyla; sister Karen of Grosse Ile, Mich. and brother Todd of Hinsdale.

Preceding him in death were his mother Beverley, sister Lynne and brother Guy.

Funeral services will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that memorial donations be made to the Marc Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Foundation.

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