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David Watkins Obituary

David Wayne Watkins III On Friday, May 9, 2014, David Wayne Watkins III of Covesville, Virginia, passed over peacefully at home after braving three and a half years of cancer. An engineer, scientist, and sailor, he lived a life full of adventure, enriched by his sharp intellect, his encyclopedic knowledge of history and science, and his spirited fellowship with many-old and young, poor and rich, simple and sophisticated. He was a Southern gentleman, a plain and careful speaker, a trickster with a sparkle in his eye, and a consummately fair human being. David W. Watkins was born in San Diego, California, on February 11, 1944, the oldest of six children born to Cdr. David W. Watkins Jr., a Navy pilot, and Alison Jane Watkins, a New Zealander. He attended Georgia Tech and, after working as a structural engineer for Lockheed, entered Florida State University, where he received a Ph.D. in psychobiology, studying the development of sensory systems in the brain. He came to the University of Virginia in 1974 as a post-doctoral fellow in neuroanatomy. Five years later he joined the growing field of solar engineering. For the next decade, he and Roger Voisinet ran Virginia Solar Contracting, designing and installing residential and commercial solar heating systems and becoming the largest solar firm in the Commonwealth. With fellow neuroanatomist Martine RoBards, David had two sons, David Mark and Michael Adam. In 1980 he married Susan Tyler Hitchcock, the beginning of a rich and eventful life together. This month they would have celebrated their 34th anniversary. He dedicated himself to work and family with equal passion. David took the greatest pleasure in sailing. Often with friends and family he would cross the Gulf Stream from Florida and live aboard a family sailboat for weeks or even months, most often in the Bahamas but also further south in the Caribbean. Dominica, Cuba, and Belize were favorite destinations. He also enjoyed sailboat racing on the Chesapeake. In the last decade of his life, David managed construction and mechanical systems of hospitals, work that pulled many threads of his knowledge and abilities together. He first worked for Charlottesville architect David Puckett, then joined Richmond firm Odell Architects and managed the construction of St. Francis Hospital in Chesterfield. He returned to the University of Virginia as construction manager for health systems and was particularly proud to have overseen construction of the Emily Couric Cancer Center. David was a lifetime learner and voracious reader of factual books and magazines. He designed and, with the help of many friends, built his family's house on Fan Mountain in Covesville. His favorite motto was "When man finish house, man die." In his last few years, he worked hard to put finishing details on his beautiful mountain home, but his illness outran his energy. His vision lives on, and we will continue building his house, knowing that it will never quite be finished. Surviving David are his three children, Michael Adam RoBards, John Wiley Watkins, and Alison Jarvis Watkins; his five siblings, John Britton Watkins, Alison Louise Watkins, Anne Rhys Watkins, Thomas James Watkins, and Mary Lavinia Watkins; his four grandchildren, Vivian, Xander, Zachary, and Roxanne RoBards; loving relatives in New Zealand; and his wife, Susan Tyler Hitchcock. Gifts in honor of David W. Watkins III may be made to the U.Va. Emily Couric Cancer Center, P.O. Box 800773, Charlottesville 22908. A memorial service will take place at Cove Presbyterian Church in Covesville, on Saturday, May 12, 2014, at 5 p.m.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Daily Progress on May 15, 2014.

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Richard Goldschmidt

August 7, 2021

I came across a picture of David from roughly 1978. We were at a professional meeting together in Vancouver, and then hitchhiked our way down the coast through the Pacific Northwest. This is a photo of David on the left, and the lumberjack who picked us up and took us to his cabin in the woods for a beer. We spent three days hiking and camping in Olympic National Park along the Hoh River valley. I will miss his joy for life.

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