William Edward Watson

A Life Well Lived

Dr. William E. Watson was born October 16th, 1943 in Erie, Pennsylvania to William and Gabriella Watson. He attended and graduated from Cathedral Preparatory School in 1961. In 1965, he earned his B.A. from Case Western University. He then went on to earn his M.D. from the University of Louisville in 1969. In 1967, while attending Louisville, William married Alice, the love of his life. William joined the Navy in 1969 and served as a Naval Medical Officer at Norfolk and a Flight Surgeon aboard the USS Lexington. William left the Navy and took the family to Florida in 1973 where he had a private medical practice in Pensacola. He also served as an ER Physician. He joined the Florida National Guard, serving as a commissioned medical officer. Work and life took William and family to other places in Florida including Gulf Breeze, Boca Raton and Panama City where he continued to work as a Physician in hospitals, ERs, and medical clinics. William and family relocated for a couple years to Tennessee, where he continued to practice medicine and additionally joined and served in the Tennessee National Guard. In 1988 William brought his family back to the Panama City, Florida area where he worked as Primary Physician at the Bay County Health Department. Still eager to serve, William joined the Army Reserves and while commissioned, served active duty for Operation Desert Shield and in the Middle East for Operation Desert Storm. William also provided ongoing, loving care for his wife Alice during this time and up until her death in 2000. In 2004, William retired from the Bay County Health Department and the Army Reserves and relocated to Tennessee where he spent his time enjoying family, friends, and hobbies. Throughout his life, William was a spiritual man who was active in Church and fellowship. In his life and in his work, William served the Lord, his family, his fellow man, and country. One of William's life-long passions was his love of HAM radio. Licensed and active for over 60 years, he held the highest technical class available. He was expertly fluent in morse code and would often win CQ contests at ham-fests or during ARRL contests. He was also recognized for having made a radio contact with someone from every country in the world. William also enjoyed model aeronautics, building and flying free flight models in the early days of the hobby, then moving on to control line and eventually radio control models. His most recent interest was in flying drones. William enjoyed history and science and knew something about everything. He also had a great sense of humor. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and his sense of humor on his T-shirts. Over the years, William was a member various clubs and organizations including: The Lions Club, the American Medical Association, F&AM, the Odd Fellows, the NRA, and others. William is preceded in death by his parents, William and Gabriella Watson and his wife, Alice M. Watson. He is survived by his daughter, Amy (Murry) Turbeville of Panama City, FL; his son Michael (Cheryl) Watson of Ashland City, TN; his grandchildren, Dorothy Wisniewski of Northfield, MN; Brian Wisniewski of Pensacola, FL and Clara Watson of Ashland City, TN.

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