On the afternoon of Friday May 18, Jere was called to Heaven as a plumber was needed. Always ready to help, he did not refuse the request. He joined his parents Naomi & William M. Watson & his brother Bill Watson. Also greeting him were his two beloved cats, Rusty & Razzi.
Jere was born in West Palm Beach, FL & traveled by train to CA when he was 6-7 years old. The family settled in San Carlos & that is where he met his best friend, Ward Messersmith in 1943. They both attended Central & Laurel Schools in San Carlos & graduated from Carlmont High School in Belmont in 1955. Always very competitive & athletic, Jere lettered in gymnastics at Carlmont. He won 3rd place in 1954 for the Bay Area Gymnastics League-B Division.
Jere followed in his dad’s footsteps by becoming a plumber. He worked for Bergie Plumbing in Redwood City for 36 years and was a proud member of Plumbers, Steamfitters, & Refrigeration Fitters Local Union #467 in Burlingame, CA. He was confident in his skills because he said the union had a very strong apprenticeship program (The program takes 5 years). In his later working years, he enjoyed working with his favorite apprentice, John Doran.
Jere lived a number of years in Redwood City before relocating to Discovery Bay where he personally built his dream home on the water. He liked having his boat at his back door ready to go. He enjoyed sailing & in later years driving his SeaRay on the Delta’s waterways. He also enjoyed the attention he got when he was driving his Studebaker Hawk.
Jere enjoyed fresh air, wind, sunshine & rain. He liked to keep busy & could do anything in construction & landscaping. Jere was a very happy man.
Jere is survived by his wife, Ann; ex-wife Diane of Stockton; daughter Tracy (Mark) Hernandez; granddaughters Marcy & Emily of San Jose; son Trevor; sister-in-law Shirley Watson of Oakdale; sister Sanda White of Modesto; brothers-in-law Rick (Maria) Sneed of San Rafael, Fred (Sherry) Sneed of Pleasant Garden, NC; & sister-in-law Helen (Tom) Behan of Fairbanks, Alaska. He also has numerous nieces & nephews in CA & NC. He is greatly missed by his two surviving cats Rainie & Kittee that he enjoyed watching & caring for while he was able.
Special thanks are given to Ward Messersmith, Madelyn Davis, Don & Cheryl Baxter for their compassion, help & love extended to me & Jere for years. I also thank Shirley, Rick & Helen. I want to thank the caregivers at Greenleaf Care Home in Brentwood, CA who cared for Jere during his last five & half months & the Sutter Hospice care team.
I am asking those who loved Jere to do an act of kindness in his memory. Help someone, help an animal, donate to Sutter Hospice, Alzheimer’s Association or to your charity of choice.
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