William Alter "Bill" Watson Jr.

William Alter “Bill” Watson, Jr., former longtime resident of New Orleans, died peacefully at his home in Pensacola, Florida, on April 21, 2016 at the age of 89. He is survived by his children, Cynthia Watson “Cindy” Davis (Gary), of Atlanta; William Alter “Chip” Watson (Peggy) of Newport News, Virginia; Janet Watson Andrews (Ken), of Albany, Georgia; Keith Stephen Watson (Roxanna), of Pensacola, Florida; and Terri Watson Rashid (Rick), of Prescott, Arizona. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren: Jessica Mykle Evans, John Weyman Evans (Jennifer), Stephen Dana Wright, Rachel Elizabeth Watson, Mackenzie Davis Luke (Josh), Anne Watson Draelos (Mark), Austin Emerson Davis, Christopher Joseph Watson, Sara Watson Poarch (Jesse), Amanda Graciela Watson, William Robert Watson, Tieran Richard Rashid, Kylan Terri Rashid, and Maritza Adriana Watson. Bill is preceded in death by his spouse, Margaret Thibaut Watson, his sister, Phyllis Watson Tally, of Greensboro, North Carolina, and his son, Richard Murray Watson.

Bill was born on August 6, 1926, in Richmond, Virginia, to William Alter and Lucile McGrath Watson. He graduated from Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1943, and began studies at Tulane University before enlisting in the Navy for WWII. He served from 1944-1946, and enjoyed his work on naval radar equipment and flight testing, becoming an aviation electronics technician’s mate 2. He subsequently served in the reserves from 1946-1950 and graduated from Tulane in 1948. He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.

After graduating, Bill moved to Birmingham, Alabama and began working at Dixie Drive-It-Yourself in the shop as a management trainee before moving into sales/management. In the ensuing years, he also worked at Hertz, Dumas Millner Leasing, National Car Rental, Dixie Leasing, and Chevway Airport Rentals (Genway Corporation). He then served as a regional vice president for Ryder, and later shifted to work in accounting, eventually creating his own firm, William A. Watson and Associates, which he sold when he retired.

His children remember him enjoying bridge, square dancing and dancing to big band music, sailing, water skiing, listening to the Kingston trio, and reciting the poems of Robert Louis Stevenson, particularly “The Cremation of Sam Magee” and “The Shooting of Dan McGrew.” He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to tell “groan” jokes. In his later years he enjoyed learning to paint with oils.

The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26th, at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, with visitation from 9 am to 12 pm, followed by a funeral service at noon. To view and sign the family guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.