Emily Jane was born January 16, 1959, in New Orleans, Louisiana, a daughter of the late Coy H. Watkins and Evelyn Dempsey Watkins. She was a graduate of H.L. Bourgeois High School in Gray, Louisiana, in 1976. She attended Mississippi College and went on to finish her Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Ole Miss. She was a longtime instructor of mentally challenged children and adults, and retired from Hudspeth Regional Center. She was a lifelong church accompanist.
She is survived by her daughter, Sara Lynn Smith; brother, Larry Watkins; and grandchildren, Emma Grace Smith, and Adam Hailey Smith.
Memorial services will be held at 11:00am, Saturday, June 4, 2022, at Highland Colony Baptist Church in Ridgeland. The family will receive friends one hour prior to services at the church.
