Scott Cornell Binde

Scott Cornell Binde (64) of Alexandria, VA died on June 1, 2024 in a bicycle accident near Thurmont, Maryland.

Scott was born on July 19, 1959 in Williston, North Dakota to Paul and Therese (Parnas) Binde of Fortuna, North Dakota. He was the 9th of 11 children in the family.

He grew up on the family wheat farm at Fortuna, attended Lincoln Valley and Fortuna elementary schools and graduated from Divide County High School in 1977. Life on the farm was largely occupied with helping with household and farm/vegetable garden chores, as well as many happy family times playing card games, board games, softball, croquet and the family camping trip every summer.

Scott graduated with a degree in Geological Engineering/Mathematics with a Teaching Certificate from the University of North Dakota in 1984. He then applied for and was accepted in the Peace Corps and spent the next 3 years in Cameroon as a Peace Corps volunteer, performing a teaching role in post-secondary schools. He formed many close friendships with other Peace Corps volunteers during this time.

Upon his return to the USA in 1987, Scott completed a Masters degree in Mathematics & Statistics at the University of North Dakota. He began his employment with the USDA in Washington, DC in 1989 as a Mathematical Statistician and continued to work there until his retirement in December 2023.

Scott’s time in Washington, DC began his great ‘love affair’ with his bicycle. He co-founded the OutRiders DC cycling group and regularly planned and led bike rides for this group. He also enjoyed cycling far & wide in the eastern USA seaboard area, as well as in Portugal, Tunisia, Laos and Alaska and regularly completed rides of 100 miles or more. He has also more recently been an active participant in the Freezing Saddles event which involves bike riding during the winter. Another more recent cycling activity has involved a lot of gravel rides and he commissioned a custom-made bicycle christened “Alvilda”, his mother’s middle name.

Scott became involved in the Lutheran Refugee Services in his early time in Washington, DC and he mentored and formed a close relationship with a Vietnamese family, continuing over the years to participate in their family celebrations and traveling to Vietnam with them. He also had a close connection with the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, DC and served on the Church Council.

Family connections were a high priority for Scott. He regularly hosted family to stay in Alexandria and was very active in initiating, promoting and organizing family gatherings. He regularly made time to visit siblings, nieces and nephews, including his 2 sisters in Australia. He had also formed close connections with many relatives in Norway and hosted them when they visited the USA as well as traveling to Norway many times himself.

And he loved nothing better than getting back to spend time on the family farm at Fortuna, immersing himself in maintaining the homestead as well as connecting with family and neighbors in the area. He had just spent a week at the farm before his untimely death.

Scott is survived by siblings Diane (Dennis) Mackrell of Euroa, Australia; Nancy (Scott) Collard of Columbia Falls, MT; Sheila (Greg) Sleep of Port Lincoln, Australia; Lyndon (Carrie) Binde of Horace, ND; Leon (Barb) Binde of Fargo, ND; sister-in-law Debbie Binde of Lake Park, MN and numerous nieces, nephews, step-nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews. Scott was preceded in death by his parents Paul and Therese, infant brother Nolan, brothers Dale, Boyd and Newell, sister Beryl, 2 brothers-in-law and a niece.

A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 in the Lutheran Church of Reformation on Capitol Hill in Washington DC with Pastor Kevin Vandiver officiating. Visitation starts at 10am with the service at 11am. A luncheon will be held directly after the service at the church.

The Memorial Service will be live streamed on the Church’s Facebook page and their YouTube channel. It will also be available to view on their YouTube channel.

A Celebration of Scott’s Life will be held on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 at 10:00 am at the Ambrose Lutheran Church in Ambrose, ND. Pastor Becky Knudson will officiate. A luncheon will be held directly after the service at the church.

Burial will be in Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Ambrose, ND. After the burial an informal gathering will be held at the Binde farm. Family will also receive friends an hour prior to the service time at the church.

The Celebration of Life will be recorded and posted as soon as available; you can view Scott’s service directly on his obituary page on our website www.fulkersons.com.