W. Scott Toth

W. Scott Toth, age 62, of Overland Park, Kansas, passed away on Thursday, December 26, 2024, at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. 

Rosary will be prayed at 6:15 pm, Thursday, January 2, 2025, at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish, 14251 Nall Ave, Leawood, Kansas 66223. Visitation will follow at 6:30 pm. Funeral mass will take place at 11 am, Friday, January 3, 2025, also at the church. Private family burial will be held at Holy Rosary Cemetery, Bucyrus, Kansas. 

One cannot say too much about a man that gave so much to the world we live in. Scott was born on September 26, 1962, in Greeley, Colorado, the son of Alfred Smith and Sandra Lou (Thompson) Toth. He graduated from Pueblo County High School with the class of 1980. During his time at Pueblo County High, Scott was very active in Speech and Debate and played golf for the high school team. Jonathan Marquez and Scott teamed up to win the Colorado High School State Debate Championship. Those early high school years would set the stage for Scott’s incredible litigation career and his love of golfing with friends. After high school, he attended the University of Southern Colorado where he was also active in Debate. Scott graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. What came next would change the lives of so many in and around Kansas City for years to come. Scott was initially waitlisted by the University of Colorado School of Law. The University of Kansas School of Law immediately admitted Scott into their program. Rather than wait until the Fall, Scott enrolled as a summer starter with KU Law. It was during that first summer of law school that Scott began lifelong friendships with Scott Gyllenborg, Charlie Scanlon and Gary Garner. At some point that first summer, Colorado informed Scott that he was no longer on the waitlist but had actually been admitted into their program. It was too late. Scott loved Lawrence, he loved being a Jayhawk and he wasn’t going anywhere. Scott would ultimately graduate from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1988.

Shortly after graduation from KU Law, Scott would start working for the Johnson County, Kansas District Attorney’s Office under Dennis Moore. In 1989, Dana Vohs would catch Scott’s eye while she also worked in the District Attorney’s Office. The two began dating later that year under the watchful eye of Dana’s mother, Laura, who was a trial assistant within the same office. Scott and Dana enjoyed spending time together, watching KU sports and playing softball together on the office’s softball team, aptly named the “Nolo Contenderes”. Scott married the absolute love of his life, Dana Vohs, on September 24, 1994, at Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Bucyrus, Kansas. Their wedding date meant that for 30 years, Scott and Dana would celebrate their anniversary at the Plaza Art Fair – one of their favorite things to do in Kansas City each and every Fall.

The overwhelming sense of happiness in Scott’s personal life also coincided with his rapid ascension within the District Attorney’s Office under Paul Morrison. By 1994, Scott was already handling some of the most serious and complex cases within the office. Scott would become the head of the Sex Crimes Unit and a Major Case attorney in the office. At a young age, Scott already had the reputation of being a highly skilled trial attorney with the highest degree of ethics, professionalism and civility toward courtroom staff, opposing counsel and jurors alike. He became a friend and mentor to many young attorneys within the District Attorney’s Office. Scott did all this with a clothing style that was all his own: bright ties and pocket squares, multi-colored wingtip shoes and long locks that were perfectly styled with copious amounts of hair products. But it was all Scotty T, no one could replicate it and everyone loved it.

By the early 2000s, Scott and Dana began to expand their family. They first welcomed Christian and then Cooper into their lives. They were so happy and thrilled to be a family of four. They loved doting on and raising both boys. By that time, Scott was known as a state-wide expert in the prosecution of sex crimes and was even appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General to help prosecute sexually-violent predators. By late 2006, Paul Morrison was leaving the District Attorney’s Office and Scott had decided that after 18 years as a prosecutor, he wanted to enter private practice.

In December 2006, Scott became a named partner in the firm Garretson, Webb & Toth. Scott thoroughly enjoyed running a law practice with Tyler Garretson and Christian Webb. They were colleagues in the District Attorney’s Office and became partners in private practice. Fairly quickly, Scott expanded his practice to include Federal Criminal Defense: The highest level of litigation for a criminal defense attorney. Scott loved helping clients during their most difficult times. He also garnered a reputation amongst the judiciary as a person that would accept an appointment on the most difficult cases and most difficult clients. He was someone that they could trust to handle a situation that others could not finish. Scott knew that everyone was Constitutionally entitled to counsel and he had the personality to handle anything or anyone. By 2015, Scott had amassed over 100 jury trials in his career. 

On October 3, 2015, Scott was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. The American College of Trial Lawyers strives to preserve and enhance trial practice, civility, professionalism, and the administration of Justice through support of an independent judiciary, the rule of law, trial by jury, and access to justice. The College is an invitation-only Fellowship of exceptional trial lawyers from the United States and Canada who have demonstrated the very highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality. One cannot simply apply for membership and candidates for Fellowship are identified through a confidential process. Very few lawyers ever have 100 jury trials in their careers and even fewer (less than 1%) actually make it into the American College of Trial Lawyers. Scott did both. Scott was extremely honored, proud and humbled to have been a Fellow in the ACTL. He was also a member of the Johnson County Bar Association, Kansas Bar Association, National Trial Lawyers Association, as well as the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Scott was also a member of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Leawood, Kansas for many years

In 2016, Scott and Tyler Garretson formed the law firm of Garretson and Toth. A firm that continued to provide exceptional criminal defense to clients at the municipal, State and Federal levels until Scott’s passing. Over the years, Scott and Tyler were blessed with amazing support staff. Running a small legal practice can result in long hours and difficult work. Scott was blessed with trial assistants like Amy Katstra, Danie Blindt and Jamie Scarlett. He also thoroughly enjoyed colleagues that shared office space with him like Chris Reecht, Bridget Schell, Jackie Rokusek and Heath Stuart. 

Over the years, Scott and Dana continued to grow closer to one another as they raised Christian and Cooper. They loved raising the boys and spent hundreds of hours watching both of them play baseball. There was no place Scott would rather be than to watch Christian or Cooper play ball. He loved the competition, being outside and cheering on family. Around baseball games, Scott relished the opportunity to hit golf balls with both Christian and Cooper. As they got older, they would routinely play 9 holes whenever time allowed. Scott and Dana were incredibly proud when they got to watch Christian graduate from the University of Kansas just a few years ago: another Jayhawk in their family. With both boys out of school, Scott and Dana enjoyed the opportunity to spend more time with each other during weekends. When Scott wasn’t golfing with buddies, he simply couldn’t get enough of quality time with Dana. In recent years, they loved to visit local Kansas City locations like the City Market, the Crossroads District, Martin City and loved listening to live music at Knuckleheads. When the Jayhawks, Chiefs or Royals were playing big games, Scott and Dana loved to host watch parties. However, you always had to be careful if you attended. At any point in time you might be asked to switch seats or go back to another room because it was better luck when you were in that location. They loved to entertain and loved to spend time with family and friends.

Scott and Dana loved to spend time with family. Whether it was with Tim and Teresa Toth, or Dana’s large extended family, Scott wanted to have people in their house. When family was over, Scott was always in charge of the blessing prior to eating. Scott made sure to include help for any difficulties a family member might be going through. It was meaningful, it was current and it would often bring others to tears. When they hosted large gatherings, Scott made a point of speaking with everyone about what was going on in their lives and discussing their interests. During some of these gatherings, Scott would contribute to the menu. There was only one problem with this, Scott loved to make things incredibly spicy. It was not uncommon for him to eat things that would make him sweat profusely because of how spicy it was. During the end of these family gatherings, either a dance party broke out inside or family gathered around outside. Scott loved to spend time outside just chilling out with the company that was present. He was so happy that he and Dana could enjoy the fruits of their hard work with family and friends. He was happy to show off his perfectly manicured lawn and conclude an evening on the patio around the firepit. Scott also loved spending time the with family dog, Donnie.

If Scott wasn’t working hard or spending time with Dana, you could be assured that if the weather was nice, he was going to be hitting golf balls. Going back to his high school days, Scott loved to play golf and he became a very good golfer. Scott had the looks and the swing of Fred Couples and he loved to tee it up with the boys. During his early time in Kansas, Scott would play with Kim Richey, Scott Gyllenborg, Fritzy and Ricky G. In later years, the group greatly expanded to TY, Tish, Fatz, Pettlon (Lobo), McCalla, Raunch, Lan-Man, C-Dub, BK and Carlito. You see, almost everyone had a nickname and so did Scott. When Abby Garretson was extremely young, Tyler was talking about his buddy, Scotty T. Abby somehow heard “Cottage Cheese” and not Scotty T. Thus, Scott’s nickname in the golf group was born: “Cheese”. It didn’t matter if it was a regular round or a tournament. Cheese loved playing golf with his guys and they loved playing with him. It’s been a while since they had the “you can’t lose more than $10 to your buddy rule”, but the golf was competitive, the stories were classic, the jokes continuous and the music was loud. If Cheese was in charge of the speaker, the music catalog was incredibly diverse. One minute you might be listening to a current country artist and the next you would be listening to the Bee Gees or the Best of Cream. There were plenty of golf outings with Cheese. The annual Southwestern Bell Classic at the Lake of the Ozarks, Vegas trips during March Madness, Branson trips, the Tothburn, the KU v. KSU Ryder Cup events and the Queen’s Golf Classic. They were all filled with long days outside, on the course, with his buddies. The golf rounds and golf trips in the future will never ever be the same without Cheese. He had an amazing ability to bring us all together while quietly and calmly taking our money.

Scott was preceded in death by his father, Alfred Toth. He is survived by his beautiful and loving wife of 30 years, Dana Toth, two sons, Christian and Cooper Toth, mother, Sandra Toth, brother, Timothy (Teresa Covell) Toth, sisters-in-law, Rita (Mike) Lambeth, Jana (Andy) Feldman, and Lea (Brad) Hink, brothers-in-law, Lenny (Jill) Vohs, D. Robert (Julie) Vohs, Kevin (Cassi) Vohs, mother-in-law and father-in-law, Donnie and Laura Vohs, as well as many nieces, nephews, extended family members and close friends. 

Scott loved and respected everyone in life. Whether you had a big title or were responsible for cleaning the courthouse, Scott treated everyone with dignity, respect, a calming influence and a big smile. As a result, Scott Toth was admired and loved by many people. We can all take solace in the fact that Scott was an organ donor. For those that knew Scott, this was no surprise. He continues to live on in others. Scott waited until he was 60 years old to get his first tattoo. He would ultimately get his third and final tattoo in November of 2024. On his right forearm, Scott had those three tattoos. A peace sign, a heart and finally a smiley face. At his very core, Scott believed in peace, love and happiness. Rest easy, dear friend. Your infectious spirit will forever remain in our hearts.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made payable to the Alzheimer's Association, c/o Dengel & Son Mortuary, P.O. Box 669, Louisburg, Kansas 66053.

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