Beverly Johnson Cunningham Watson

1925 - 2025

Beverly Johnson Cunningham Watson
06/29/1925 - 05/26/2025
Beverly Johnson Watson passed away on Monday, May 26, 2025. She was born in Houston, Texas, on June 29, 1925, to parents Gertrude Cameron Johnson and Chester Samuel Johnson. She grew up in Houston and attended MacGregor Elementary, Johnston Jr. High, and Lamar High School. After graduation she spent a year at Hockaday in Dallas and then went on to UT Austin. Beverly pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma at UT and made many lifelong friends, as well as starting a lifelong enjoyment of playing weekly games of Mahjong (which started in the Kappa House.) In later years she enjoyed playing Rummy Cube with a special group of friends. Beverly always enjoyed the outdoors and was an avid golfer and fisherman. She was a member of Houston Country Club, RiverHill in Kerrville, and Old Baldy Club in Wyoming. She loved Galveston and had many fond memories of her early girlhood home in Bayside Terrace. She attended Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, where she was a Kiowa.
The most important thing in Beverly's world was her family. She never missed a family gathering and most of the time was the source of the fun. She is preceded in death by her parents, Gertrude (Kitty) and Chester Johnson; her husband, John T. Watson; niece Katherine (Kay) Dillon Peters, and her brother-in-law, C. Brien Dillon. Beverly is survived by her sister, Audrey Johnson Dillon; her children, David Johnson Cunningham and wife Cindy, Beverly and husband Scott Shaeffer, and Patty and husband D. Ferguson McNiel. She is survived by five grandchildren: Catherine Andreas and husband Mark, Carrie Soffel and husband Chuck, John Shaeffer, Robert McNiel, and Douglas McNiel. She is survived by six grandchildren: Charlie Soffel, John Scott Shaeffer, Ghent Shaeffer, Blake Soffel, and Elian and Orion Andreas.
She is survived by nephew Doug Dillon and Nancy Pettiette and his children Laura Highberger and husband Edward, James Dillon, and Mary Caroline Smartt and husband Shafer; nephew Robert (Bob) Dillon and wife Christie; and great-nephew Johnson Dillion Peters (Jed) and wife Hannah and their children Dillon and Hudson.
Beverly was a member of the Jr. League of Houston, the River Oaks Garden Club, and the Late Bloomers Club. She enjoyed many years of working every Monday in the sheds at ROCG. She made many treasured friendships with members of all ages. She was a member of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, where she attended Sunday School and church. She especially enjoyed taking her great-grandchildren to St. Luke's.
Friends are cordially invited to attend a memorial service for Beverly at three o'clock in the afternoon on Monday, June 2, 2025, in the Sanctuary of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Rd., Houston, Texas 77027. Following the service, a reception for friends and family will be held in the Hines Baker Room in the church. A private burial will take place earlier in the day.
For those desiring, gifts in Beverly's memory may be given to St. Luke's United Methodist Church, River Oaks Garden Club, or the charity of your choice.
The family wishes to extend a special thanks to her caregivers Rita Reyes Martinez, Juan Manuel Martinez, Macrina Zavala, and Laura Reyes. Thank you also to her team from Accent Hospice, especially Linda Gayle Galasso and Lyric James.