Juanita ""Nita Lorraine Watson

She was born April 19, 1925, in Denver, to Robert Wallace Watson and Ruth Victoria (Geis) Watson.

Nita spent her early years in Avalo, CO, attending a one-room schoolhouse. She was still in contact with first-grade classmates, as recently as this year. “Lorraine,” as she was known then, spent her summers in Estes Park, where her grandparents, George and Mary Watson owned what is now called Wild Basin Lodge.

The family moved to Gebo, WY, and Nita attended junior high and high school in Thermopolis. She corresponded with classmates from those years, as well, throughout her life.

She married Robert Detandt, who was a soldier in WWII. The couple moved to Rochester, NY, Robert’s home town; and Nita worked for a photographer there, tinting black-and-white photos (before the arrival of color film). After they divorced, Nita raised their two daughters on her own, working for the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis and transferring later to the Denver offices.

In 1957, Nita married James E. Watson, an electrical engineer with Aeronautical Radio, Inc. (ARINC). Nita welcomed into the family a stepdaughter and, in time, a son. The family moved to Aurora, CO in 1965, and Nita worked part-time for Blue Cross/Blue Shield and for Samsonite. Upon Jim’s retirement, the couple moved to Fort Collins, CO; and for the next 13 years, Jim and Nita enjoyed good health and travel, spending winters in Mesa, AZ. Nita enjoyed photography, canning fruits and jellies, making home-made crafts, antiquing, square-dancing, emailing, lunching with Red Hat ladies, being active in Bible Study groups, and entertaining friends and neighbors. After Jim died in 2001, Nita moved to the Winslow complex in Fort Collins, where she continued to enjoy independent living. She made wonderful friends there, during her nine- year residence.

Survivors include Carol (Detandt) Pedersen of Utah; Elaine Watson of Longmont; Dona (Detandt) Avery of Johnstown; and James A. Watson of Laramie, WY. Surviving grandchildren are Michelle Son, Lynn Avery, and Jessica Watson. There are four great-grandchildren, as well: Spencer Son, Maranda Chambers, Quentin Watson, and Carter Watson.

A memorial service and reception will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 4, at the Winslow in Fort Collins: 909 Center Ave. Interment will be at a later date at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, where her husband was buried with military honors in 2001. Memorial contributions may be made to the MDS Foundation, 4573 S. Broad St., Suite 150, Yardville, NJ 08620.