Joseph Austin Watts

November 7, 1938 – March 11, 2024

A Celebration of Life will be held on April 6, 2024

Talon’s Cove Golf Course in Saratoga Springs at 1pm

A Good Joe has Left the Course

A Life Sketch of Joe Watts

By Connie Watts based on the personal writings of Joe

(20-minute estimated reading time/but worth it)

Joe Watts, longtime Utah Golf Association executive director, friend to many, father, brother, grandfather and husband, has finished the course and signed his score card.

On March 11, 2024, Joe left the 18th hole with his putter held high and that enduring smile on his face – not necessarily a smile of a champion but more significant, the grin of satisfaction – having played the game well, enjoyed it and made so many friends along the way.

Life is a lot like a round of golf. You start out at the first tee box. Clubs gleaming. Fresh polo shirt. Sunny skies, friends smiling and hopes high. In front of you is a beautiful course you must navigate with a little ball and some sticks. Keeping the ball on the fairway and out of the rough – especially the deep rough – is the trick. No one knew their way around a golf course – or life – quite like Joe Watts. Let’s walk the course with him.

The Front Nine

Joseph Austin Watts was born in Logan, Utah, on November 7, 1938. He was born into a wonderful, loving, prominent Cache Valley family headed by Conley (Con) Watts and Barbara Parkinson Watts. The family was very active in the community, the Mormon Church, the family business (Cache Valley Builders Supply) and sports of all kinds. Joe’s dad was a coach and top athlete with movie star good looks. Joe’s mom was a classy, no-nonsense Commander of the Home Front kind of woman. After all, she had taken care of her own siblings after their mother had passed away. But she did have her hands full with this bunch!

Joe had an older brother Richard whom he idolized. Like his dad, Richard was a top athlete and also had Hollywood looks and an air of sophistication that had Joe dazzled. Joe also had his constant companion, teammate and near-twin brother Gary. The bond between Joe and Gary is the very definition of the word bond. The breath of fresh air to this motley crew was their beautiful little sister, Bobbi Jo. With her blonde ringlets and prim dresses, she made her brothers proud to be her knights in shining armor. And then there was the little brother, Steve, who brought comic relief and an audience for his older brothers. No wonder he became so good at play-by-play announcing.

Growing up on Second West in Logan was like living in a Norman Rockwell painting. It was the stuff of Steven Spielberg movies. Hey scriptwriters – this is a good one!

As the kids grew, Joe found himself face to face with manhood. The transition was made smoother through sports, drama and a crush on a certain girl with wildly red hair – Sharon Raymond. The star basketball player who sinks the winning free throw shot to upset the #1 ranked Jordan Beetdiggers and the Sweetheart Ball queen. How many songs are there about such an exhilarating time of life? Hey songwriters – this is it!

And of course, this is exactly the point in life where all the good men of a certain age and certain religion are called to serve. Joe was called to “go on a mission and see the world.” He often commented on how scared he felt when that plane door slammed shut. But when the plane door opened again, he was in New Zealand.

The New Zealand years were yet another movie script too good to be passed by any producer in Hollywood. To sum it up, Gary got called to the same mission (unheard of!), and to “supplement” door knocking, they formed a basketball team and toured the country. Yep. You cannot make this stuff up. Joe stood out as a missionary and got some important assignments that educated him more than books could on how to work with, assist and – yes – learn to lead people. He became the Mission Secretary and later the Assistant to the President, Alexander Anderson. This calling resulted in the opportunity to chauffeur and assistant to the apostles Ezra Taft Benson, Spencer W. Kimball and Harold B. Lee during their visits to the New Zealand South Mission.

In addition to learning the art of winning friends and influencing people, Joe learned how to write. Between letters home to Sharon and his friends and family and all the secretarial work, Joe fell in love with his second sweetheart – the written word. To be successful as a writer, you must have a passion for it like Joe did.

The call to “go on a mission and SEE THE WORLD” was really more about the second part. Joe’s passion for New Zealand, the country and the Māori became a part of who he was as he grew into full manhood. The pang for adventure and learning inspired Joe to take the long way home and literally see the world. In a series Woody Allen Zelig-like moments, Joe traveled on dodgy boats in Hong Kong and by trains, planes and automobiles, stopping in Berlin the day before the wall closed, hitting the beaches in Monaco where Princess Grace gazed from on high and visiting Paris and London before finally heading home to meet the family in New York City and see Mary Martin play Peter Pan on Broadway.

By the time Joe got back to Logan, he was not that same young man who quaked when the plane door slammed. And with that, our leading man Joe married our leading lady Sharon on October 19, 1962.

Joe and Sharon, along with brother Gary and his wife Millie, enjoyed the newly married life, pursued and completed college, double dated, and on multiple occasions played penny ante poker games. All the fun that comes before the babies.

By 1965 Joe had significantly expanded his role. Joe and Sharon welcomed their first child, Connie, to the world and Joe moved from a newlywed college student, toward professional life and a career.

After finishing his degree at Utah State University, Joe became a coach and teacher at Logan Junior High School. Basketball and sex education… Can you imagine? With his little daughter cheering on the sidelines at the basketball games, life was moving at a good clip now.

Over the next several years, Joe shifted his employment goals more toward his passion – writing. Combine that with his knowledge and love of sports and – voila – you have a magnificent sportswriter! Joe covered every sport from A to Z for the Logan Herald Journal.

Joe and Sharon moved from Logan to Orem and then Provo as Joe took on the prestigious role of sports editor of the Provo Daily Herald in the shadow of the mammoth BYU sports program. This propelled Joe right into the middle of everything SPORTS in Utah. Everyone wanted Joe to cover their stories, and Joe could write a hell of a story. This was the perfect script for success.

Joe’s role as a father and a husband expanded even further when he and Sharon welcomed baby son Joey to the family. But Joe also had to face his first “deep rough” experience – the depression that overwhelmed his beautiful wife. The struggle was immense, and the couple worked together to figure it out (as they always would).

With a new baby and the cloud of depression, Sharon had all she could handle. Joe had to take on a greater role as a father. And with that their daughter Connie would go to work every day with her dad. She had a desk next to his and was his sidekick at all the baseball, football, basketball, golf games most people don’t experience in a lifetime.

Building on his network in Utah County and along with his best friend Jack Donaldson, he decided to pursue additional entrepreneurial goals. To the delight of their wives and children, Jack and Joe launched Jewel Magic! They opened several locations of the little bead and jewelry-making shop and then sold it. The magic in Jewel Magic was really the brother-like closeness and complementary work partner Joe had in Jack.

The early years in Utah County were full of sports, cousins, golf and good times. Family trips to Disneyland and large family gatherings in Logan at the Watts family home. By now Joe’s sister and brothers had all married and had kids. Gary and Millie had moved to Provo where Gary began practice in Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, partly to live near his brother. Con and Barbara could not be prouder of their children and beautiful grandchildren. Success was really starting to be a family trait with the Watts children as their lives and families flourished.

Joe had about hit his peak at the Daily Herald and so - along with his buddy Jack, and brother Steve, and help from his father - the men began efforts to open Watts Lumber in Lindon, Utah. Everything seemed aligned for a new business to thrive. And the timing was right because the population was really booming in Utah County.

However, timing is one of those things no one can control. And just as Joe was getting comfortable back on the fairway, life sent him back into the deep rough with the death of his father, Con. Losing Con, who was helping to launch the lumber yard, was a blow to the entire family. It had a ripple-like effect not understood for years. Joe may have lost his north star with the death of his father, but he found more strength, wisdom and courage within himself to keep moving toward his goals.

About the same time that Joe was dealing with the loss of his father, he landed a follow-up shot again in the rough. This time it was his recognition that he didn’t believe in the Mormon Church anymore.

In his personal writings, Joe has described his years in Utah County as an emergence from the cocoon culminating in his recognition that not only did he not believe, but that he did not want to put on any masks and pretend that he did. This was quite a bold thing to do as a well-known man in Utah County. Quite publicly, Joe walked away from the LDS faith. Joe’s initial disappointment with the church was rooted in its approach to mental health.

Together, Joe and Sharon had struggled with and sought solutions to ease her depression. When they turned to their faith to seek answers, both felt repeatedly let down by the church because all it seemed to offer was “pray it away” approaches.

At the same time Joe was negotiating his disappointment in how the church addressed matters of mental health, Joe also became sympathetic to the civil rights movement that was challenging Mormon Church policies for its failure to grant full civil rights to its black members.

From these two initial concerns, Joe’s very belief in the entirety of church started to unravel. Over the years he would find many more conflicts with the church and what he believed was true – particularly related to issues related to human rights. Joe shifted from a faith believer to a knowledge seeker, and he never looked back.

Approaching the Turn

As Joe dealt with the loss of his father and the loss of his faith in the church, Watts Lumber took off and was a big success. Even bigger than expected. Joe built a beautiful home for his family in Orem, Utah, and the Joe Watts family became part of the “country club” crowd. Years of gracious living were enjoyed by Joe, Sharon and their kids. Joey and Connie made many friends in Orem, and their life on Lambert Lane – right across the street from the Donaldsons – was bliss.

During these years not only did Joe enjoy building and growing the lumber yard but also expanding his role in the community through involvement in civic groups such as Kiwanis and as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and the Board of Directors for the Utah Golf Association.

Life was good, he was centered on the fairway. There were cars and clothes and travel and touches of luxury – and oh did it feel good. Until it didn’t…

The Back Nine

The late ’80s in Utah County were a tough time for the Joe Watts family. The impact of “trickle down” economics, interest rates over 20%, and the closing of Geneva Steel (a main employer in Utah County) resulted in a housing market glut. Houses were a dime a dozen. And owning a lumber yard was like an albatross.

People who know Joe know he is as proud as he is stubborn. Joe refused to declare bankruptcy. Somehow that would be escaping a punishment he felt he deserved. So, he didn’t. Not only that, he bent over backward to help builders and contractors who were also suffering in this hard economy. Much like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Joe wanted to help, but in doing so he extended his own losses.

At this point, Joe had no choice but to take everything down to the studs. It was time to liquidated everything… Everything… Goodbye cars and house and country clubs, and frankly, some friends. It was a brutal time for Joe and his family. But particularly for Joe because all he ever wanted to do was to build a respectable life for his wife and kids.

In selling everything, Joe and his family moved to Salt Lake City. It was rough on all of them to leave their lives in Utah County and start again. Although Connie had already moved to Salt Lake to attend the University of Utah, for Joey, it meant changing schools and leaving friends. For Sharon, it meant saying goodbye to her home and many dear Utah County friends, adding to a depression that was creeping up again. Joe was hit hard by all of this. He never admitted he was depressed. But he was. He really hit rock bottom.

Joe kept moving and put all his heart and energy toward getting back into the game and back on the fairway. Once again, Joe and Connie worked together to forge a new path – this time in the publishing world. They tried a basketball newspaper but then Joe hit on it – Utah Golf News. Connie and Joe worked together on the beginnings of what would later become Fairways Magazine.

Back on the Fairway Big Time!

As Utah Golf News started getting a lot of attention, Joe had his dream job fall right in his lap. He became the executive director of the Utah Golf Association. When Joe took on this role, he was determined to love his work and make a difference. He was so grateful for having survived his previous time in the rough, and he was ready to resume play back on the fairway.

Many articles have been written about the impact Joe had on the Utah Golf Association. Clear-eyed, he took on the work with a look to the future but also to honor and celebrate the long history of golf in Utah. Under Joe’s direction, UGA membership numbers exploded, tournaments were added and improved, the history of the Utah State Amateur (the longest running tournament in the world) was captured and shared – and of course, the Golf Hall of Fame was established.

Just as he had when he was the sports editor of the Daily Herald, Joe balanced his work at the UGA with the pursuit of many additional activities. But instead of entrepreneurial enterprises, Joe got busy giving back to the community, engaging in causes promoting human rights and fairness, holding lawmakers accountable and helping people get elected. Invited to many a kitchen table for various candidates, Joe was a noted member of the activist community in Salt Lake City. He was always helping to get petitions signed and voters called. And most of all, he strived to educate people to put love first – love over hate ALWAYS.

Success with the UGA wasn’t the same kind of financial success Joe had previously enjoyed, but in many ways, it was a much richer experience. For one thing, Joe and Sharon became more content with less. They both recognized that was so incredibly valuable in life wasn’t anything you could purchase, but it could be pursued. With a love for life, learning and experiencing culture and past times like golf and basketball – Joe was very content.

Joe and Sharon really settled into Salt Lake City and as their kids left the nest, they found even more time to enjoy each other. Sharon was always brilliant at bringing art and music into Joe’s world. They loved living at Three Fountains East. Whenever you’d talk to him on the phone, Joe would go on and on about how he and Sharon were living the dream.

As good as the back nine was going for Joe after he joined the UGA, there were still a few more experiences with the deep rough.

In 1993 Joe almost got his DQ card when he suddenly had to undergo five by-pass open heart surgery. This shot in the rough was a surprise to all of his friends and family. But just as Joe always does, he pushed hard and recovered remarkably fast. Within 6 months of the surgery, he hiked to the top of Mount Timpanogos with a golf club and hit shots off the top. The famous photo of him taking the shots was featured in Golf Digest magazine.

During the years at the UGA the Joe Watts family continued to morph with marriages, divorces, and grandchildren. The art of negotiating difficult family tensions was something both Joe and Sharon did with charm and love. They genuinely always loved the people that their children did. But also – to the appreciation of both Joey and Connie, Joe and Sharon ALWAYS stood by their kids.

Over the span of several years, Joe and Sharon shared the love of grandchildren Con, Alex, Max, Stella and Milo. And they ended up with a beloved, forever daughter-in-law Carol. In a full circle kind of way, Connie ended up with one of her first boyfriends in high school – Bruce Lunceford. Joe and Sharon both love Bruce and welcomed his children (Sydney, Jack, and Zoe) to the family.

In 2017 Joe became a great grandfather! His beautiful granddaughter Alex and her husband Andrew Pehrson welcomed Griffin to the family.

Just as everything seemed to be settling in with an expanding family, tragedy struck. The heartbreaking story of the suicide of his only son Joey is another story. But it is a story Joe struggled to understand and regretted not knowing more about. Joe’s heart broke when Joey died in a way that could never be repaired. As they say, you are only as happy as your most unhappy child.

But in 2019 Joe Watts would meet his final patch of deep rough – dementia. Dementia is by far the cruelest curse to give someone who is so in love with learning, reading, writing, thinking, conversing, and discussing… All of those activities began to take a slow decline, a slow crumbling of the very meaning of life for Joe, little by little.

Dementia became a part of daily life for Joe, but he fought it like no one ever has. Always a highly organized man, Joe worked harder than ever to maintain a daily schedule, set reminders, study and battle the disease growing in his brain so that he still might enjoy life – and that he did.

Despite dementia as a feature in Joe’s daily life, he continued to live a good one. Not only did he continue to meet with friends, play basketball and putt, remain engaged in politics and organizing, but he gladly welcomed two more great grandchildren, Ellie and Benjamin. And even though they always ached to see Joey again, Joe and Sharon loved sharing their home at Three Fountains East and their lives with their own grandson Con (son of Joey) – who thought of Joe as a father. And a jewel in the crown - in 2021 Joe received an honor bestowed on few - when he was inducted into the Utah Golf Hall of Fame. He was humbled by the honor if not a tad embarrassed since he was the force that created the Hall of Fame in the first place.

The 18th Hole

Only a month before Joe passed away, he was diagnosed with colon cancer – and the combination of the cancer and dementia took him away from us quickly. But that was the way he wanted it. He said, after he received the news about the cancer, that he was ready to go and that he wanted to do that in his own home – not in some hospital room somewhere. And that is exactly what he did surrounded by his family.

Joe was a great golfer, but he was even better at living life. Not only did he put together a brilliant game, but it was made more brilliant by the way he got himself out of those deep rough situations and figured out how to get back on the fairway. Joe taught us all how to live with determination, persistence, honesty and joy. The spirit and inspiration of Joe Watts is larger than all the deep rough, sand traps and water hazards put together and multiplied by a thousand.

Joe would want all of you to be happy, think of him sometimes, and, of course, SAVOR THE BIRDIES.

You can join the Celebration of Life by livestream by going to

http://varsitysportstv.com. It will not be live until shortly before the service.