J. Scott Bestul

After a courageous 2½ year cancer battle, Scott Bestul passed away on April 19, 2025. Scott was born on November 5, 1960 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He was adopted by his parents, Patricia and Marvin Bestul, and was raised in Madison, Wisconsin and Davenport, Iowa alongside his sister Jo.

He attended Scott Community College and Winona State University where he earned his Bachelor's degree in English. He participated in theatre, but his talents truly shined running for the cross country and track and field teams, where he competed at the state and national level. At Winona State, he met Shari Fusillo. They married in 1989. Scott taught junior high English for several years, but his dream was to be a writer. After encouragement from Shari, he made that dream a reality and spent most of his career writing for Field and Stream magazine as their whitetail expert. He also published three books about hunting and outdoor life. He and Shari became parents to twins, Brooke and Bailey, in 1999. Fatherhood was one of Scott’s greatest accomplishments. He loved going on yearly summer camping trips with Shari and the kids in the trusty family pop-up camper.

Scott was passionate about hunting and fishing from a young age. He was a lifelong lover of golden retrievers and enjoyed sharing the wilderness with them. His hunting took him around the country experiencing successful hunts with his friends. He loved serving as a hunting guide to his friends, family, and new hunters.

He now gets to enjoy heaven alongside his beloved late doggies and mother, Pat. 

The visitation will be held at Highland Prairie Lutheran Church in Peterson, MN at 1:30 PM on Thursday April 24th, followed by the funeral at 2:30 PM. A burial service will follow the funeral at Rushford Lutheran Cemetery.