Virginia Ione Petticrew Watson

Virginia Ione (Petticrew) Watson was born Oct. 18, 1915 in Wheat Ridge and passed away March 8, 2012 in Wheat Ridge. Wife of the late Frederic E. Watson; mother of Larry E. (Carol) of Bremmerton, WA, Jerry E. (Karen) of Wheat Ridge, CO, & Keith E. (Mary Ann) Watson of Longmont, CO; sister of Frank A. “Jimmy” (Dorothy) Petticrew; grandmother of Brian (Elizabeth) Watson of Bremmerton, WA, Bruce Watson of Webster Grove, MO, Jeff (Danielle) Watson of Billings, MT, Jodi Chris) Manera of Rifle, CO, Jennifer (Kent) Solt of Loveland, CO & Melanie (Raymond) Ritz of Nashville, TN; great grandmother of 14; also numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial Service will be held Saturday, March 31, 2012, 11:00 am, Applewood Valley United Methodist Church, 2035 Ellis St., Golden 80401. Memorial contributions to Applewood Valley United Methodist Church.

Remembering Mom (Reflections by Larry Watson)

Mom lived to the age of 96 years old and the last years of her life were not her best years, but I, for one, prefer to remember Mom as a vibrant attractive woman who was a loving wife, a devoted mother and an active community member.

My first recollection of Mom was as a young mother. Jerry and I must have been 3 or 4 years old. (If Keith was along, then we would have been a little older.) I remember Mom pulling us in a little wagon as she was selling or delivering greeting cards. I remember that we were all the way down at 38th and Kipling (quite a ways from home as we lived at 34th and Garland).

Mom and Dad’s life revolved around Jefferson Avenue Methodist Church and the Maple Grove Grange. I remember Mom’s involvement with the church -- taking minutes at church meetings in shorthand (which she learned at Barnes Business School). I remember both Mom and Dad (it is hard not to remember one without the other, as they were always together) being active in church dinners ( I remember chicken pot pies) and their sale of tickets for several different settings.

We were about ten years old when Maple Grove Grange decided to build a Grange Hall (the one just south of 32nd and Youngfield). Our Grandpa Petticrew was very instrumental in the planning and building of that hall. Mom and Dad (along with many other Grange members) volunteered many, many weekends in the building of that structure. I remember Mom as an active participant in the many activities at the Church and at the Grange as well as trying to keep track of 3 active boys who could find lots of ways to get into trouble. I think of Mom (and Dad) in skits and plays, on the Grange drill team, square dancing, and holding many offices in the Grange.

Mom worked (part time) for my Uncle Milton (Dad’s brother) on his poultry farm in Golden. Mom cleaned and packaged eggs. She cut up and boxed chicken fryers and cleaned and prepared turkeys before the major holidays. She would also help Dad deliver these poultry products to homes throughout the Denver area, each of them driving trucks to different areas on Saturdays, often meeting at City Park for lunch. Remember, she was only 4 feet eleven and three quarter inches tall (this is how tall she would always say she was), but she drove the delivery truck anyway. I remember she was always afraid that she was going to be robbed, but that never happened.

I remember Mom and Dad taking us on camping/fishing trips. We had a great big tent that belonged to Grandpa Petticrew that could sleep at least 10 people. I can remember Mom hiking on the trail, almost always the last one bringing up the rear, but always making it.

We almost always had a vegetable garden. I remember one time she got all of us boys out into the garden by saying, “Let’s all get in the garden and get it cleaned up.” After we had been there for a while, we looked around and said, “Where’s Mom?” She had silently slipped away.

Mom encouraged us in our studies, attended PTA meetings, and scolded us when we didn’t do our work. Mom believed in the theory of “Spare the rod and spoil the child”. Mom did not spare the rod. We were punished when we needed it! (Maybe that’s why we all turned out so bad???)

Mom and Dad made it possible for us to be involved in as many school, church, and Grange activities as we wanted, always finding a way to get us to and from those activities. With three boys, there were plenty of activities.

When Jerry and I were in the sixth grade, Mom went to work for the State Board of Nurse Examiners (a job she held for more than 20 years). At that time she said that her boys would fix supper every night. We did, even though we were not always happy about doing it. Each one of us knew that we cooked one night, did dishes the next night, and then had a night off. In addition to teaching us cooking skills, she taught us how to do laundry and ironing. I think that made us pretty good husbands!

Before Jerry and my senior year in high school Mom and Dad took the family to California. We camped along the way, sometimes rolling our sleeping bags out beside the car not far off the road. Mom and Dad slept in the car. We went to Disneyland. We three boys wanted to go everywhere and see everything. When Mom got tired, she would find a place to sit down and call everyone over and say, “Sit down. Let’s plan our strategy.”

After we three boys went to college, Mom and Dad were able to travel. They liked to take bus trips to almost anywhere. Often when they got to a new city, they would take the local bus from one end of town to the other. They just seemed happy being together.

After their three boys married and started having children of their own, both Mom and Dad loved their grandchildren; however, they did not dote on their grandchildren, and it was pretty well understood that they were not our ‘on call’ babysitters. They went to as many of the activities of their grandchildren as they could and always seemed to enjoy them.

Mom was not an angel. She was feisty and occasionally could be confrontational. I am sure many of us have been the brunt of her outbursts, but as far as I know, she would later apologize for her outbursts. We all have our faults, but Mom did not have many. I will always love her and I will miss her very much!