With heavy hearts, yet happy tears…Jackie (Jack) Lee Watson, age 85, passed away on Jan. 27, 2026, at Cedarhurst Assisted Living in West Plains, Missouri.
Shelter Me (Psalm 91 in song) played as he was on his way to his Heavenly Home, with his daughter, Sonya and her husband Jack Jones holding his hands. Though his body was simply worn out from years of hard work along with numerous health battles he had fought so ferociously for the past five and half years, his mind was still impeccably sharp, he was always sporting a smile, and a kind word.
Jack was born on his Grandpa Hamilton’s farm in Solo, Missouri, to Faye Hamilton Watson and Herbert Watson, on Dec. 21, 1940. When Jack was only three months old, his father traded a three-year-old mare for a house and forty acres, before getting a chance to move over the hill to a 154-acre farm for a whopping $1,200! It was on this farm where his parents ran a dairy farm and raised their family. Jack often milked twenty-six cows by hand before going to school. He also assisted with the raising of sheep, hogs, chickens, molasses making and was part of the threshing crew.
In his early youth, while attending Baptist Camp one summer, he was saved and baptized in the Piney River. He then became a member of the New Hope Baptist Church at Solo where his father, Herbert, was also a deacon. Jack would go on horseback early on Sunday mornings to start a fire in the potbelly stove to warm the church up before the congregation would arrive.
Jack attended all 12 years as a Houston Tiger in Houston, and was a proud member of the 1959 graduating class. During his senior year, his basketball team earned the title of South Central Association Conference Champions! That same year, Jack ran both low and high hurdles, setting a record at 17.2 in the high hurdles. His mile relay team also established a record of 3:39.1. One of those two records was eventually broken by his younger brother, Carl!
Jack was actively involved in the Houston FFA Chapter, and one of his favorite memories was being able to go on a 10-day trip to Yellowstone on a school bus for $50! The group slept outdoors most nights and sought shelter in a fire station during one memorable downpour.
Being raised as an avid horseman, Jack loved his Fox Trotters and was a member of the Solo Night Riders. He rode many a mile with Harold and Lorene Johnson, along with other close family and friends all over the county. This was how he met a pretty little gal named Kay Johnson his junior year of high school. They fell in love and Daddy even proposed to our mother while on horseback! They were married on Sept. 2, 1960, in Tyrone, Missouri, and celebrated 60 years of marriage before her passing in November 2020.
They were the proud parents of Sonya Lea and husband, Jack Jones of West Plains and Troy Jaye Watson and wife, Kathy of Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was Papa Jack to Jennifer (Brent) Campbell, Deneall (Greg) Goines, Christie (Jimmy) Baker, Joshua (Ali) Jones and Tristian (Brittany) Watson. Jack was blessed with several great-grandchildren: Ava, Jacy, Liam and Hope Campbell; Benjamin, Elijah and Amy Baker; Silas, McCoy and Jett Jones all of West Plains. Delilah and Nick Henson; Parker, Syler and Jade Watson in and around the Hot Spring, Arkansas area.
Jack is also survived by his brother, Eddie Watson; sister-in-law, Jan; and several nieces and nephews whom he adored. The Watson family shared countless treasured memories together, especially with fried chicken dinners, ice-cream socials and laughter guaranteed during deer and turkey seasons.
Although Jack initially aspired to a career in agriculture or forestry, he ultimately found his calling in telecommunications after a short time working at Brown Shoe Factory in Cabool. He constructed aerial and buried telephone facilities throughout Missouri and Kansas before moving to northern Illinois, where he managed a privately owned telephone company in the village of Viola. While there, he also worked as an electrician, volunteered as a firefighter, served on the Viola Library Board and was active in Village Hall during the 10 years the family lived there.
He moved our family back home to Solo in 1977 where he returned to farm beef cattle and raised feeder pigs, while working for the electrical department in the City of Houston. In 1978, he was hired at Continental Telephone Company of Missouri as an installation and repairman for the City of Summersville. In 1986, he transferred to Houston as a cable and maintenance splicer of copper and fiber. His telephone career spanned over 40 years before he retired in 2006.
Jack became a member of the Springfield, Missouri’s Woodturners Association and served as a board member for Ozark Cemetery, along with 32 years on the Cass Township Board before selling the farm and moving closer to his daughter in West Plains. There, he thoroughly enjoyed gardening, getting back into leather making, furthering his talents in woodturning and sharing his talents with his grands! When his health declined and he made his final move to Cedarhurst Assisted Living, he turned pens on a small lathe for as long as his health allowed. He then learned how to loom both potholders and knitted several beautiful stocking caps for family and friends!
Lovingly known as the “King of Cedarhurst,” Jack served two years as resident council president. Cedarhurst became a second family to him, and he was deeply loved by everyone there. One of his final big outings came last year when he won a dream trip to Bass Pro Shops in Springfield. He delighted in visiting Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium, enjoying a steak dinner at Hemingway’s, shopping at Bass Pro and topping it all off with Andy’s Frozen Custard on the way home.
Jack was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Kay; his parents, Herb and Faye; brother, Carl; infant brother; sister in-law, Janet; in-laws, Jesse and Opal Erwin, and Harold and Zula Johnson; brother and sister in-law, Loren and Dianna Johnson; and Angel Baby, Jackie.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at Ozark Baptist Church in Houston, with Brother Bill Jetton officiating. Visitation is at 10 a.m., with burial immediately following service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ozark Cemetery Fund. Our family would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the countless health care workers in all the many hospital settings who cared for Jack, the remarkable hospice team and the many friends who loved him as we all did.
Though Daddy will be greatly missed, his sense of humor, quick wit and legacy will live on through our family. We are at peace knowing he is no longer suffering — walking the Streets of Gold, holding our mother’s hand, rejoicing in a glorious reunion with loved ones and awaiting the day we will see him again.
A Celebration of his Life will be held at a later date at Cedarhurst for those that became like family and it will, of course, include ice cream…his favorite!
Arrangements are under the direction of Evans Funeral Home of Houston. Online condolences may be left at www.evansfh.com.