Rosalee Mae Watkins

She was an independent thinker and did things her own way following her intuition which led to much success. Her work benefited the community, and she always cared about others. She was a pioneer in everything she did.

She graduated from Lincoln High School in Kansas City, Missouri in 1952. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from Kansas State Teachers college in Pittsburgh, Kansas in 1957. It was there she joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She then earned her Master’s degree in education with a specialty in employment counseling from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 1967.

Upon graduation from Pittsburgh, she joined City National Bank & Trust (now UMB & Commerce banks) as the first black employee hired in the steno pool. She was the first black employee hired into a non-custodial role / customer facing role. She left the bank to pursue a job in her field of study and went to the Missouri Employment office as an employment counselor.

Her impact in the community can be most felt at the Samuel U. Rogers Community Health Center and General Motors.

In 1967 she authored the Federal Grant that created the now Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center and joined the organization as the Director of Personnel and Training. Her key accomplishments at the health center included the creation of the whole HR system from salary planning to benefits and personnel policies, handbooks, job analysis, etc. However, her biggest impact was in the training program that she developed to provide customer services for the health center. She developed a customized training program that helped turn high school dropouts into certified and/or licensed providers of health services i.e. RNs, EKG technicians, medical laboratory technicians, and dental assistants. Those graduates provided a permanent benefit to the community. She spent a total of 21 years with the health center over three different employment periods; the last one between 2005-2010. In 2005, what began as a six-month contract as the interim CEO resulted in her serving longer as interim CEO and ending with 4 years as the director of Human Resources.

Her community impact was also felt during her tenure at General Motors where she spent 15 years 1976-1991. There she performed various HR functions including being the first female Labor Relations Representative. However, her most prominent role was as Training Director. In that role, she managed the company’s tuition assistance program for employees. She recommended and implemented training programs and workshops for management and hourly employees that addressed teamwork, human performance, and candidate skill assessments. She also developed a program that offered on-site college credit courses that addressed adult basic skills, computer skills, electronics, robotics, and liberal arts. Some of the students graduated with Associate Arts degrees, and some built upon those accomplishments to earn advanced degrees. She also managed the employee suggestion program and took the plant from #19, the lowest of the group, to number one in one year for cost savings and improvement. Her last assignment was the General Motors administrator for the multifaceted UAW-GM training and placement program to benefit laid-off GM Automotive workers when the Leeds plant closed.

Rosalee Mae Watkins was preceded in death by her parents Alonzo Alexander Slaughter Sr. and Anna Mae Slaughter McGill, her brother Alonzo Alexander Slaughter Jr., and ex-husbands Harold Clayton Watkins Sr., Ted Frazier, and Donnell Milow.

She leaves behind two sisters Betty Jane Wesley and Cynthia Slaughter Weatherspoon; four children Anena Watkins Metoyer, Harold Clayton Watkins Jr., Glenn Errol Watkins, and Cheryl Lynn Hammond; four grandchildren David Metoyer, Lauren Metoyer, Taylor Hammond, and Alina Hammond-Ralls and 2 great-grandchildren Rhys Hammond and Jameson Hayden and many other family members and friends.