Chester Kenneth Watson, son of the late Chester B. and Willetta “Addie”(Miller) Watson was born July 14, 1924 in Shelby County, Kentucky. He was raised there on the family farm, growing up during the Great Depression. Addie died when Chester was only eleven and he was raised by his father and older sisters.
In 1942, at the age of 17, Chester joined the Army, and in September of 1943, in preparation for the invasion of Continental Europe, his unit sailed for Bristol, England. That is where he met a young British girl, Dorothy Jenkins. Their romance, however, would have to wait. Chester was soon deployed to France as a member of the 3rd Armored Division, leading the 1st Army advance across Normandy, Northern France, Belgium, and Germany. Chester fought in the “Battle of the Bulge”, and his battalion was the first to penetrate the Siegfried Line and capture a German town.
With the surrender of German forces in May of 1945, Chester wasted no time in returning to England to reconnect with Dorothy. The two were married on Valentine’s Day, 1946 and they were inseparable from that day until her passing just 37 days before his.
Duty called again in 1950, and Chester was deployed to Korea with the 5th Regimental Combat Team while Dorothy and their three oldest children waited out the conflict at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Chester returned from Korea in 1953, and the Watson family continued to grow, with Chester and Dorothy eventually raising four daughters and two sons. Chester retired from the Army in 1963 as a First Sergeant, settling in Colorado Springs. He went on to enjoy a twenty four year career as the service manager at Phil Long Ford, finally retiring in 1987. In retirement, Chester and Dorothy spent the next thirty years traveling the country, helping raise their many grandchildren, and dealing in antiques.
Chester was preceded in death by his beloved wife Dorothy on February 6, 2020, and by their son, LCpl Kenneth Gary Watson in 1968. Chester is survived by, his sister Daisy Perry of Shelby County,KY; his children and their spouses: Shirley & David Woodruff of Binghamton NY, Pamela & Daniel Guerriero of Buffalo, NY, Colleen & Don Olynick of Woodland Park, CO, Maureen & John Parish and Alan & Terri Watson of Colorado Springs, CO. Also surviving Chester are his grandchildren: Rachel Benjamin, David Woodruff, Danielle & Stephanie Guerriero, Jenn Olynick, Sandie Cockroft, Allison Watson, John & Stephen Parish, Michael Watson, and Madeleine Parish; and his great-grandchildren: Devon, Ella & Mia Woodruff, Logan & Wyatt Fernand, and Weston & Kaylee Cockroft, and countless nieces and nephews across the nation.
Services will be held at Swan-Law Funeral Director's 501 N. Cascade Ave. Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903. Internment to follow at Evergreen Cemetery.
