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, 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 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 retiring 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 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. More recent cycling activities included the Freezing Saddles event and gravel rides. He commissioned a custom-made bicycle christened “Alvilda”, his mother’s middle name.

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

Family connections were a high priority for Scott. He often 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. He had also formed close connections with many relatives in Norway, hosted them when they visited the USA and traveled to Norway many times himself.
He loved nothing better than getting back to spend time on the family farm at Fortuna, immersing himself in maintaining the homestead and connecting with family and neighbors. 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.