Judge Lon Chandler Watson Jr.

Funeral service for Judge Lon Chandler Watson Jr., 89, of Anniston, will be 2:30 p.m. Monday, October 10, 2011, at First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. David Rice and the Rev. David Hodnett officiating. Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday from 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. at the church. Judge Watson died Wednesday morning at Regional Medical Center. Survivors include his wife, Marion Smith Watson; daughters, Marion Murphree (Stacy), and Harriet Lane (Dan); son, Lon Chandler Watson III (Katrina); grandchildren, Lon Chandler Watson IV (Renita), Seraphine Murphree, Jessica Boone (Rusty), Hannah Zieback (Adam), and Daniel Lane; and great-grandchild, Anna Grace Boone. Judge Watson is preceded in death by his son, William Robert Watson. Pallbearers will be Ronald Allen, Chris Hopkins, Keener Hudson, Tim Knight, Harry Long and Jerry McCullars. Honorary Pallbearers will be Calhoun - Cleburne County Bar Association. Judge Watson was a native of Anniston. He received an A.B. degree from Emory University, an L.L.B. degree from University of Alabama Law School, and an L.L.M. degree from Harvard Law School. He was a Federal Bankruptcy Judge for the northern district of Alabama, eastern division, before retiring in 1991. He was one of the original authors of the Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice Treatise, written in the 1970's. Judge Watson was in demand as a speaker throughout the country for continuing legal education programs including Norton Institutes. In 1993, he received the Fellow Award for the American College of Bankruptcy. Mr. Watson loved the outdoors. He was an avid deer and dove hunter and had a passion for bass fishing. He was a long standing member of the Anniston Rotary Club. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, a long-time ruling elder, and teacher of the Sam Russell Sunday School Class from many years. Online condolences made at www.graybrownservice.com.