GENE WATSON

1938 - 2025

GENE WATSON 06/25/1938 - 04/13/2025 Gene Jackson Watson, 86, of Eufaula, Alabama, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, April 13, 2025. A man of deep Christian faith, Gene now resides in heaven where the circle remains unbroken. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at 11 A.M., at First United Methodist Church in Eufaula, Alabama, with Rev. Matt Avera officiating. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 9:30 A.M. to 11 A.M. at the church. Burial services will be held at 4 P.M., Wednesday afternoon at Union Cemetery in Georgiana, Alabama. Chapman Funeral Home directing. Born on June 25, 1938, in Butler County, Alabama, Gene was the youngest of five children born to Leonard Morris Watson and Alva Lee Rigsby Watson. The Watsons were a rural farming family and Gene walked to school with bare feet in the spring and fall months of the school year. He would go on to spend much of his life in schools and supporting education. After graduating from Georgiana High School, he was surprised to receive an offer to play college basketball and further his education at Southern Union Junior College. The trip to Southern Union was the first time Gene had traveled north of Montgomery. It was there in Wadley, Alabama, that he met the love of his life, Patricia Ann Hodge. Their wedding was held on December 20, 1958, beginning a marriage of 66 years. Their daughter, Kim, was born in 1963, and their son Lee joined the family in 1966. The University of Alabama provided Gene the opportunity to complete his Bachelor of Science in Education (1960), and he began his career in education as an English teacher and Guidance Counselor. He completed a Master of Arts degree, again from the Capstone, in 1963 and stepped into successive roles as a public school administrator. In this period, Gene helped coordinate the peaceful desegregation of Andalusia High School. By 1972, he had completed the doctoral program in Education at The University of Alabama, and began serving as Area Superintendent then Associate Superintendent for Greenville, South Carolina. Dr. Watson went on to serve as Superintendent of Schools for Madison County, Alabama, then Dothan City Schools. In 1982, the State of Alabama House of Representatives commended him for his contributions to education. He was inducted into the Alabama Educational Leadership Hall of Fame in 1991. After retiring from public education, Dr. Watson moved to Eufaula, Alabama, to serve as the Executive Director of the Eufaula Chamber of Commerce in 1992. Under his leadership, the organization became the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce and played a critical role in recruiting the modern poultry industry to Barbour County, credited for a significant decrease in the county unemployment rate. Dr. Watson was named Eufaula's "Citizen of the Year" by the Kiwanis Club in 1997 and by the Eufaula Tribune in 1998. Throughout his life, Dr. Watson spent his leisure time then his retirement camping, gardening, supporting the Alabama Crimson Tide, traveling the world, spending time with his family, and conducting genealogical research. He was a leader in the First United Methodist Church in Eufaula and an active member of The University of Alabama National Alumni Association. Gene is survived by his wife, Pat Watson; his daughter Kim (Craig) Harris of Eufaula, Alabama; his son Lee (Jennifer) Watson of Dothan, Alabama. Grandchildren include Anna Lee (Robby) Hedrick, Jackson (Mackenzie) Harris, and Turner Watson. Great-grandchildren include Blake Hedrick and Harris Hedrick. Pallbearers are Jackson Harris, Robby Hedrick, Turner Watson, Paul Hodge, Jeff Bonner, Jim Bonner, Richard Johnson, and Buster Padgett. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to First United Methodist Church of Eufaula or Union Church & Cemetery Association (P.O. Box 594, Georgiana, Alabama 36033).