LT COL Charles A Watterson USAF (Ret)

Charles Watterson passed away peacefully on April 17, 2020 at home surrounded by his loving family. Charles was born in Zolfo Springs, FL to Clifford C. and Posie Watterson. It was here his father and grandfather operated a timber business. After losing this to the Great Depression, the family settled on a farm in Live Oak, FL where Charles grew up with his three siblings. Loving airplanes at an early age, he used tree roots to create material similar to balsa wood to build model airplanes. He graduated with honors from Suwanee High School during the dark days of WWII. Soon after, he joined the Army Air Corps and qualified as a bomber pilot. He was attached to the 15th Air Force 99th Bomb Group stationed in Foggia, Italy. There, he completed 17 missions flying B-17’s over Germany. He experienced many harrowing situations of which he never spoke until later in life.

Prior to going overseas, he was sent to Boston, MA to return/pilot airplanes fitted with special radar equipment. During his brief stay, he met the love of his life, Pauline (Polly) Ruhl. They married after the war in 1945 and travelled out west where he was assigned to Strategic Air Command for a short while. At the conclusion of active duty, he entered the Air Force Reserve eventually retiring with the rank of LT Colonel. Throughout his life, he never lost his love of flying. He earned his private pilot license and, up to his death, kept current with advances in aviation.

Thanks to the GI bill, Charles earned a business degree from the University of Florida. His career was varied to say the least. He worked for large corporations, started his own businesses, and earned a real estate license. At the age of 70, he retired after working for the State of Florida. His residences included Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida.

Charles could be described as Disciplined, Diligent, Dedicated, and Devoted. His grandson, Adam, will always remember him as “a kind voice of reason and resolve - a source of inspiration to maintain self-discipline and trust in hard work”. He was the ultimate family man serving as a loving husband to Pauline for 72 years (d. 2017); father to Charles A. Watterson, Jr. (Janice) of Soddy Daisy, TN. and Susan W. Lee of Winter Haven; grandfather to Heather Lee-Blackwell (Ronnie) of Winter Haven, Robert Charles Lee, Esq. of Tallahassee, Charles A. Watterson (Katie) of Fairhope, AL, and Adam Watterson, M.D. (Carrie) of Spanish Fort, AL. He was also the proud great-grandfather of five.

After 34 years in Tallahassee, Charles and Pauline moved to Winter Haven in 2012. We were blessed to care for them during the latter part of their lives. Along with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Charles is survived by his sister Margaret Howard (John) of Lake City, FL and brother George Watterson (Carole) of Tallahassee, FL. The youngest sibling, Frances Mott of Live Oak, FL, passed away in 2009.

Interment will be at Barrancas Military Cemetery in Pensacola, FL. No local service is planned, but donations to one of his favorite organizations are welcomed. These include: Salvation Army, Disabled American Veterans, and In Touch Ministries (Atlanta, GA).

Charles’ favorite poem was High Flight by WWII pilot John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

High Flight

by

John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —

And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

This poem is in the public domain.