Margaret (Maggie) Nancy Watkins

Margaret (Maggie) Nancy Hess Watkins, 89, of Upper Arlington, passed away on Monday, November 9, 2026 at Dublin Retirement Village after a 36 year battle with Parkinson's. She was born on July 20, 1937 to Walter and Helen Hess of Summerlee, WV. She was one of five children.

While still in high school, she met her husband, the late William Hale Watkins. They both attended West Virginia University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Gamma Fraternity. After graduation, Maggie began a teaching career at Groveton High School in Alexandria, VA and later at Charleston High School and George Washington High School in Charleston, WV. After moving to Columbus, Ohio with her family, she was the editor of The Anchora, the official magazine of Delta Gamma Fraternity for seven years before becoming Executive Director. She also served as the Development Director for the Delta Gamma Foundation. She received the Golden Anchor Award from the Delta Gamma Foundation for outstanding service.

Maggie was intelligent, warm, curious, and driven to excel at everything she pursued. Her lasting legacy will be the many excellent young women she befriended and mentored over the years. She served in a variety of volunteer positions including President of Delta Gamma Alumnae and Junior Division of the Symphony Club. She also was a board member of The Columbus Museum of Art and Women in Philanthropy at The Ohio State University. She established the W. Hale Watkins Memorial Scholarship which is given annually to a student at the West Virginia University College of Law.

A golf enthusiast, Maggie and her husband were founding members of The Country Club at Muirfield in Columbus and often played golf in North Carolina at Pinehurst and Bald Head Island. She was an avid reader and loved to spend time with her children and grandchildren. She and her husband enjoyed traveling and visiting friends throughout the country. She was a member of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church.

Her life was marked by an irrepressible spirit, a deep love of learning, and an infectious energy that buoyed everyone she met. She was a very special person and will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, her sister, Joan Miller, of Detroit, MI, and brother-in-law, Charles Brooks Watkins of Charleston, WV. She is survived by her children David Watkins (Pam) and Nancy Pridgen, two grandchildren, Michael Watkins and Tyler Pridgen, her sister, Barbara Bucciere, of Cincinnati, OH, sister, Cathy Fourney, of Beckley, WV, brother William Hess, of Barboursville, WV, sister-in-law, Susan Watkins of Charleston, WV, and many nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be on Friday, November 20, 2026 at Schoedinger Northwest from 4-7pm at 1740 Zollinger Road, Upper Arlington, OH 43221. A Celebration of Life service will be on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at 1:00 pm at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, 2300 Lytham Rd., Upper Arlington, OH 43220. A reception will be held after the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research or the Delta Gamma Foundation.