Family and friends are remembering Elmer E. “Buzz” Watson, who died last weekend. This remembrance is shared by his daughter, who says they wrote it together:

Elmer Earl ‘Buzz’ Watson, 95, died July 30th, 2016. following a long life well lived.

He is survived by his son, Gary Watson (Deborah) and granddaughter Kristina Watson (Brock Towler) and great grandson, Miles Towler, grandson Michael Watson (Gillian), and daughter Rebecca Watson (Darwin Nordin). He is also survived by his sister, Dorothy Roeder (her children, Catherine, Cristine, Eric, Aaron) of Bellingham.

Buzz, son of Rachel and Elmer Watson, and great-great nephew of Ernest Watson of Whidbey Island fame (1886 historical house still stands as a B&B in Coupeville), grew up on a 120-acre dairy farm in Sumas, Washington, during the Depression, where he learned how to milk, and avoid being kicked by, a cow.

When not doing farm chores, or riling his sister Dorothy, he spent a lot of time hunting & fishing in the nearby woods & streams. Once or twice a year, his family ventured to the big city – Bellingham – to see the sights. When he was 17, the family sold the farm and moved to Bellingham, where he attended Western Washington College of Education (now WWU) for two years before moving to Seattle to work for the Western Electric (Ballard) phone company for a brief time. In 1941, he joined the Marine Corps, completing his flight training in Eastern Washington and Corpus Christi, Texas, where he graduated as Second Lieutenant. After meeting at a friend’s wedding in 1943, he wooed and married Jacque Lee Crawford in just one week. They honeymooned on the train, en route to North Carolina, and on the night they arrived, not able to find a room in a hotel, asked a police officer if they could spend the night in jail. After finding a home in Morehead City, NC, he received advanced flight training in preparation for active duty in WWII. He served 4 1/2 years as Captain at Midway Island, where he flew a B-25 Mitchell.

Personal highlights included shooting skeet with actor Robert Stack in Hawaii, and fishing off the islands for tuna. Following the war, he served 14 years in the Marine Corps Reserves, and was honorably discharged as Lieutenant Colonel in 1960. His military service was followed by several post-war jobs, gas station attendant, bread truck driver, bank teller at Bellingham National Bank – anything to make ends meet. He then worked for 35 years as a public servant – Deputy Collector for the Internal Revenue Service – and later was promoted to Supervisor of the Bellingham IRS office. He was feared but fair, finding creative ways for people owing tax to pay what was owed to the government (or as he liked to say owed to their neighbors).

Following his retirement from the IRS, he worked part-time as a real estate agent and enjoyed driving clients around and sharing stories about Whatcom County. Following his divorce from Jacque in 1972, he was awarded custody of his daughter Rebecca (unusual for that time) and was a single father for 4 years before marrying Josephine Durnan in 1976 (they divorced in the late ’80s). He lived in Bellingham (rented an apartment from beloved friend Cheryl) until suffering a stroke in 2012, which brought him to West Seattle, where he lived at Daystar Retirement Village, to be closer to his daughter who cared for him until his passing.

According to him, he was the best fisherman in Bellingham, and enjoyed many fishing trips with friends near Point Roberts, Stuart Island, and off Vancouver Island. He especially enjoyed the fishing trips to Alaska with son Gary, and to HiHume Lake in Canada with daughter Rebecca and son-in-law Darwin. He enjoyed golfing (was a huge Fred Couples fan) and watching the Mariners (when they were winning). A personal friend of Senator Scoop Jackson, he was (and undoubtedly still is) a yellow dog Democrat, and enjoyed seeing Barack Obama elected twice. He was also happy to see Hillary Clinton be nominated as the democratic candidate for President this year. He loved to cook (a foodie before it became trendy), made a mean apple pie and was always asked to barbecue the salmon for friend/family gatherings. Later in life, one Thanksgiving weekend, after a brief introduction by Darwin and Rebecca, he took up painting and produced many beautiful landscapes. He loved his family very much, and was very grateful for all their love, and proud of all their many accomplishments.

His family is saddened by his passing but is grateful that he had the courage to find his own path to a dignified end, and is finally at peace. The family thanks Daystar Retirement Village, Synergy HomeCare, & Kline Galland hospice for their support. At his request, there will be no memorial service. In his honor, please consider a donation to your favorite environmental organization, preferably dedicated to river or ocean conservation efforts – oceanfdn.org, wecprotects.org, marine-conservation.org, tpl.org. Also, don’t forget to vote!

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)