Obituary: William Isaac Watts

William Isaac Watts

William Isaac Watts

1925 - 2010

On the 4th of July 1925, an ingenious man was born in Valier, Ill., to Thomas J. Watts and Julia (Dalrymple) Watts; they named him William Isaac Watts after his great-grandfather. His family knew him as "Big Bill." He passed away in Prescott, Ariz., on April 8, 2010, at the age of 84 years, nine months and four days.

His first years in the southern Illinois coal-mining community he was surrounded by a loving and hard-working family who were key in America's coal business since 1847. Times had changed and in 1927 his parents moved to Huntington Park, Calif., where Bill was raised. Life was tough from 1929 to 1941 during the Great Depression. However, his father, a produce truck driver, always had plenty of good food. The hard times taught Bill lifelong values of discipline, dedication and commitment. He enjoyed learning math, science and football in school, as well as hunting, fishing and the general outdoors he learned from his father and grandfather. His years at South Gate High were overshadowed by World War II. He had lost a cousin in the RCAF in 1941, so in 1943, Bill, like most of America's young men and women, went in the service to do his part. He became a navigator in the 9th Air Force 315th Troop Carrier Group on the C-47 Dakota in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was in the European Theater of Operations where he participated in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity the deepest penetration air drop ever performed. After the war he settled in the Pacific Northwest where his parents had moved. He graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Engineering when he met his loving wife Margaret E. Bruneau. They courted and Bill finished school and landed a job during the difficult post war years. They were engaged February 13, 1948, and married June 3, 1950. He spent 35 years with The Boeing Company. He was part of the engineering design and latter management teams on the famous B-52 Bomber, the 707, 720 and 727 commercial aeroplane programs, the Minuteman and Peacekeeper ICBM Programs. Bill was part of the aerospace engineering marvels that shaped and protected this nation. Like many others of this generation, he always stated that it was his and previous generations that sacrificed for our freedoms today. Don't waste it with mediocre change.

Bill and Margaret celebrated the births of three children in Seattle, Wash., and moved to Bountiful, Utah, where they raised them. Bill bought a ranch in Roosevelt, Utah, to teach his sons values. After their sons graduated from high school between 1969 and 1976, Bill and Margaret moved to Lompoc, Calif., then Montana and back to Utah before retiring from the Boeing Company in 1986. They designed and built a home overlooking the Snake River in Buhl, Idaho, where they lived until 1994 when they moved to the milder climate in Prescott, Ariz.

Bill is survived by his three sons, Stephen of Camp Verde, Gregory and his wife Val of Prescott and Marcus of Irvine, Calif.; his grandchildren Nydia, Nathan, Robert Leary, Thomas, William, Valerie Kretchmer, Hillary and Miranda; and great-grandchildren.

It is with much sadness that Big Bill, a true patriot and gentleman, one of the last of the greatest generations that ever lived, has now journeyed across the greatest divide and is now resting in peace with his departed loved ones; his recently deceased wife Margaret (Jan. 23, 2010), and his parents, Thomas and Julia Watts.

Visitation will be at 9 a.m. and then a Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday, April 12, 2010, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. His interment will be later that day at 1:30 p.m. at the National Cemetery of Arizona.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Center Adult Day Services, 844 Sunset Ave., Prescott, AZ 86305 (to support families dealing with Alzheimer's) or a charity of your own choice.

Hampton Funeral Home assisted the family with final arrangements.

Information provided by survivors.


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