MARIWYNN ALFORD WATSON

AAFA #0127

1928 TX – 2006 TX

 

 

MORNING TELEGRAPH

Tyler, Smith Co., TX—Friday, 20 October 2006

 

            Wynn Watson, widow of Russel Watson, Jr., died on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006. Services will be held on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2006, at Christ Episcopal Church at 2 p.m., followed by interment at Rose Hill Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Lloyd James Funeral Home.

            Wynn Watson was born in Paris, Texas, on June 14, 1928, to Jess and Lucille Rayford Alford. She attended Camp Waldemar as a Tejas, was a Duchess in the Rose Festival in 1949, and attended Hollins College in Virginia, graduating with a degree in Fine Art. She married Russel Watson Jr. in 1950.

            Quiet and soft-spoken, Wynn Watson was remarkably insightful and was never wrong about anything important. Though her appetite for food had diminished in recent years, she remained hungry for learning and new information. When visitors arrived, she always patted the cushion beside her as an invitation for them to sit and talk and tell her what they were thinking about. She was a good listener. When the house was still, she always had several books at her side.

            Wynn Watson helped found the Tyler Museum of Art and served as a member and president of the museum’s Board of Trustees. She also helped found the East Texas Crisis Center, serving as a board member for several years. In the early 1970s, she hosted transcendental meditation classes at the very same time she was a member of the Junior League of Tyler. A member of Christ Episcopal Church, Mrs. Watson also served in the Altar Guild of Christ Church and was a member of the Episcopal Church Women. She was a volunteer at PATH and was a member of the Tyler Junior Garden Club. For many years, she and her husband, Russel, hosted the Thursday Night Social Club, a gathering that often provided rich stories about our community.

            Wynn Watson was preceded in death by her husband, Russel Watson Jr. She is survived by her brother, Jess B. Alford, Jr.; by her son, Russel Breckenridge Watson III, his wife Dr. Linda Watson, DVM, and sons Russel Breckenridge Watson IV and Joseph Collier Watson; by her son, Matthew Alford Watson, his wife Judge Judith Guthrie and daughters, Katherine Lucille Watson and Mary Larkin Watson; by her daughter, Larkin Watson Forman and her husband Richard Forman; by her son, William Rayford Collier Watson, his wife Deborah McKeever Watson; and by an abundant group of nieces and nephews.

            Honorary pallbearers are George Oge, Stuart Hunt, Jack Russell, Dr. Harold Cameron, James McCain, Tommy Swann and J.C. Wynne. Pallbearers are James Wynne, Jeff Alford III, Ron Gleason, Paul Godwin, Crews Fry, Stephen Bentley and Chris Abraham.

            The family will receive friends at 423 South Chilton on Friday, Oct. 20, 2006, from 5 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Tyler Museum of Art; PATH; East Texas Crisis Center or Christ Episcopal Church.

 

In another article:

 

MORNING TELEGRAPH

Tyler, Smith Co., TX—Wednesday, 18 October 2006

 

WOMAN KILLED BY TYLER HOUSE FIRE

 

            An early Wednesday morning fire claimed the life of a 78-year-old Tyler woman who apparently became overcome with smoke when she was trying to escape her home in the Manor Place subdivision.

            Mariwynn Watson was found dead in her home at 515 Buckingham Place around 10 a.m. Wednesday, said Capt. Jeff Akin, Tyler Fire Department public information officer.

            Akin said Ms. Watson’s maid showed up Wednesday morning and could not get the front door of the residence open.

            “The maid called the woman’s son and he was able to push the door open, where he found his mother’s body blocking the doorway,” he said.

            Akin said the man called for an ambulance for the woman, and Tyler firefighters also were dispatched as part of procedure.

            “When the first fire unit arrived, they could smell the smoke and saw where the fire had damaged the living room area of the home,” he said.

            As family members consoled each other on the quiet street, investigators searched for clues to what may have started the fire.

            Akin said the woman apparently attempted to extinguish the fire, but was burned in the process; when she finally tried to exit, the smoke had overcome her.

            Akin said the fire had extinguished itself during the early morning hours because the home was “so airtight it smothered the flames.”

            However, heavy smoke filled the home. “She tried to put it out, but the smoke was too much for her,” he said. “It only takes one good breath of smoke to overcome a person.”

            Akin said firefighters were not alerted to the fire until the woman’s body was found.

            “This doesn’t happen often, but the fire smothered itself and there were no visible signs outside the home that there was a fire,” he said.

            The Wednesday morning blaze was the city’s first fatal fire of the year...

            The woman’s body was sent to the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Tyler for an autopsy.

 

AAFA NOTES: SSDI records do not list her death.

            AAFA records show that Mariwynn was born 14 June 1928 in Paris, Lamar Co., TX.

            Her lineage: Mariwynn 1928 TX¹, Jess Burks 1895 TX², Egbert Benson 1858 AL³, John Rogers 1810 GA⁴, Kinchen 1779 NC⁵, James 1741 NC/ VA⁶, Lodwick 1710 VA⁷, James 1687 VA⁸, John 1645 VA⁹.