John Owen Watson, loving spouse, incredible family man, gracious friend, Southern gentleman, and humble Christian, died Sunday, March 1 at University of Mississippi Medical Center, Grenada, MS. Visitation will be Thursday, March 5, from 5-8 PM at Greenwood Delta Funeral Home and Friday, March 6, 1 PM at Carrollton Baptist Church. The funeral service will be at 2 PM at Carrollton Baptist Church and burial immediately following at Vaiden Cemetery.
“John O.” was a Greenwood native, born January 12, 1940, of the late Marie Cotton Watson and John Roy Watson. He graduated from Greenwood High School in 1957 where he was a starting member of the basketball team. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Mississippi State in 1962. During his last few semesters of college and immediately after graduation, John O. worked with his father John Roy, in launching and establishing Watson Heating and Air in which both worked. John O. sold the business in 2003 to Harold Floyd Heating and Air. Planning to stay just a few months to help transition customers to the new business, John O. remained with the new firm for 16 years. Staff at both firms were considered family.
John O. loved all kinds of people, and he never met a stranger. A lover of stories, John O. always wanted to hear about others lives and wanted to share his. His children and wife remember vacations to Disney and the Florida Keys, weekend camping and water-skiing trips, a fabulous backyard that included a trampoline, elaborate swing set, and a “club house.” He was a father and spouse who could design and build ANYTHING. With the delta climate, John O. was much beloved in the community as “The Heating and Air Conditioning Man,” who took care of widows, the ill, and those who could not pay. Laughter and joy were leading hallmarks of John O.’s personality, and it attracted all who knew him into relationships of warmth.
Faith was at the core of John O., and he lived a life of integrity everywhere he went. Church was important to him, and over his life he was the Sunday School teacher of multiple ages and classes, a music minister, a deacon, and chair of multiple building committees in multiple churches. Though humble in material possessions, John O. was generous with his church, his family, and those in need.
John O. is survived by his wife, Janice Tate Watson of Greenwood MS; his daughter, Stephanie Marie Feniello (Jim) of Pittsburgh PA; his grandson, Joey Feniello of Pittsburgh PA; his son, Todd Owen Watson of Hattiesburg MS; his brother, Calvin Roy Watson (Dana Moore) of Alexandria VA; his brother Michael Skipper Watson (Lori) of Murfreesboro TN; and his stepmother, Cleo Watson of Greenwood MS.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Carrollton Baptist Church, PO Box 5, Carrollton MS 38917.
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