IMOGENE WATSON

IMOGENE "JEAN" (WILSON) WATSON LANCASTER - Imogene "Jean" (Wilson) Watson, 89, passed peacefully at home on Friday, November 15, 2024. She is survived by her beloved husband of 55 years, James Everett Watson Jr.; her children and their spouses, Alan D. Sliwa, Sandra and Barry Watson, Nancy and Richard Pacella Jr.; grandchildren, Bobbie Jo Stanley and husband Alan, Mitchell Fox, Amanda Watson, Alex Watson, Amelia Sliwa, Alana Sliwa, Tyler Watson and wife Morgan, Isabelle, Sophia, Adriana, and Rocco Pacella. She leaves her brother Ronald Wilson and wife Billie; sister-in-law Kay Wilson; generations of nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. She is predeceased by two children, Georgia Sliwa and George "Joey" Sliwa Jr.; her brother Jackie "Aaron" Wilson; and three stepsons, Robert, Jimmy and Scott Watson. Jean was born in Ashburn, Ga., daughter of the late Edison and Nancy (Culpepper) Wilson. She graduated from Sycamore High School as a standout student athlete and member of the varsity basketball team. In addition to raising her family, she completed studies at Worcester State College and spent her professional career working as a bookkeeper alongside her husband in their family business, James E. Watson Funeral Home in Clinton, until retiring. A woman of great faith, Jean was a devout member of the former Evangelical Congregational Church in Lancaster where she served on the executive board as church secretary and as a member of the church choir. Actively involved in her community, Mrs. Watson was a member and patron of numerous organizations in Lancaster and Clinton, notably, Friends of the Lancaster Library, Garden Club, Historical Society, Historical Commission, and Current Topics Club. In addition, she held membership with Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, National Colonial Dames of America, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Ga., and National Rifle Association. With a lifelong passion for research and genealogy, Jean proudly authored and produced books on the histories of the Wilson and Sliwa families, The Evangelical Congregational Church of Lancaster, Lancaster Current Topics Club, and James E. Watson Funeral Home. Above all, she was a proud family matriarch, devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Calling hours were held on Thursday, November 21, 2024, from 5 until 7 p.m. in Philbin-Comeau Funeral Home, 176 Water St., Clinton. Funeral Services and burial will later be held at Rose Hill Cemetery in Ashburn, Georgia, under the direction of the Perry Funeral Home, Ashburn. Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Imogene Watson to Veterans, Inc., 69 Grove St., Worcester, MA 01604. Online condolences may be placed at www.philbincomeaufh.com.