Barbara Anne Watson

Barbara led an incredible life. She was a minister's wife, a mom, an administrator, a foodie, a lover of the arts, a knitter, a painter, a published recipe author, but what stands out for all of us is the way she connected people together. Her ability to be open minded, welcoming, and loyal stood out to many who knew her and was a constant throughout her life.

Growing up in the Bronx, this initial city-dweller always longed for more open spaces, but started off in the hustle and bustle of apartment life. She was often “passed upstairs” to her nana’s apartment the floor above, whenever she wore down her mother’s patience. She loved it at her nana’s-she was spoiled by her grandparents and was allowed to do much more than in her parents’ apartment.

With her dad’s work being a locksmith, they moved out to Connecticut where Barbara eventually attended 2 years at the University of Connecticut before the family of three moved out to LA in the late 1950’s.

She always told us the story of their avocado tree in their backyard. When they moved out west, none of the family had ever seen an avocado, nor did they know how to eat them and their first attempt was not successful. The fruit was hard and lacked any flavor. Eventually a neighbour taught them about avocados; when to pick and when they would be ripe and best to eat. From then on, the family enjoyed many saltine crackers topped with slices of ripe avocado.

LA still didn’t quite hit the mark for Babara’s dreams of wide open spaces and one summer she went to visit a cousin in Lander, Wyoming. They attended church where she caught the eye of a dashing priest, 15 years her senior. Magic happened and the Rev. Bill Watson married Barbara Anne Linn in Beverly Hills, CA in 1961.

The two began a life together in Lander and in 1962 along came a junior-WIlliam Breese Watson JR to be exact. Eventually the family moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota,where Barbara picked up an interest in art, attending community art classes, and meeting people from all walks of life.

Barbara, Fr. Bill and Breese moved to Lostine, OR, continuing to fulfil Barbara’s love for wide open spaces.Her heart always stayed in Wallowa County, even when the family eventually moved to Salem, OR. She often spoke of the majesty of the mountains, the beauty of the lakes and the peace that she found there.She also joined the campaign for George McGovern with her friends and alway was active in what she believed in.

When the family moved to Salem OR in the late 1970s, Barbara got a bit of a surprise. At 39, she found out a little miracle was going to arrive later in the year-a baby girl to join the family. Barbara, Fr. Bill and Breese welcomed Bethany, just before Christmas in 1978.

Family life was quite different for both Breese and Bethany; Breese had a young mom with a father who was very active in his parishes, Bethany had a mature mom who eventually went to work while Fr. Bill retired. But what was similar for both was the love of the outdoors-camping or out in a campervan during the summers, the enjoyment of food, whether it was special meals out in restaurants or cooking up wonderful food at home, the love of games-card games, sporting games-of course this became a family of 3 U of O ducks, the connections with people that both Fr. Bill and Barbara taught in different ways.

Barbara helped people to connect together and with each other, building long lasting friendships and relationships. She will be missed, but never forgotten and we are grateful she is able to rest and be at peace.

The celebration of her life will be held at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Salem, OR on December 10th at 11am.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to one of Barbara’s favourite charities, The Oregon Food bank:https://give.oregonfoodbank.org/give/92782/#!/donation/checkout