Chris Watts

When I was 16, I got a Fender acoustic guitar for Christmas. My little brother would sneak into my room when I wasn't home and take my guitar. He taught himself how to play on that instrument. He found his passion early and spent a lifetime perfecting his talent and skill, joyously sharing his music through performances and teaching others. He was always in two, three, four bands at a time and never missed band practice. He was a key member in Rusty Nails, American Abyss, Class Action, 303, Karri Fedor and Kerosene and many more over the years. A consummate musician, he plucked and strummed all over NE Ohio, gaining many fans and followers. If he didn't know a song request, give him ten minutes, he'd learn it and perform it as the professional he was. He had many favorite bands and many favorite guitar slingers. I'm sure that everyone who knew him would claim that such and so was Chris' favorite and they are probably right. As a teenager, he was a huge Kiss fan, his mother (!) even took him to one of their concerts before he could drive (I did, too, miss you, Richfield Coliseum). But from my side, it would have to be the Eagles. That band has a special place in the two of our hearts.
John Christoper Watts was born on Labor Day 1967 in Akron, Ohio to John and Eileen Watts. His dad was John; we all called my brother Chris. The family moved to North Canton when he was a kid and Chris never left, loving his hometown. He graduated from North Canton Hoover High School, class of 1985. Although he spent some time at Kent State, he had other interests and just wanted to play his guitar. He had a number of different jobs, the 20+ years driving for Pizza Hut kept him in guitar strings, amplifiers and speakers, because that's what really mattered to him.
Chris' family was very important, birthday parties at Belgrade's, Christmas at Aunt Nan-nan's house, going to the movies on Thanksgiving with the cousins. Hollee and Chris were the same age and formed a tight bond growing up. When I had Kate and Olivia, Uncle Chris was the bomb. He loved doting on his nieces, presenting piles of Christmas and birthday presents (all in the same wrapping paper, year after year), playing for them, giving them all the energy he had. And of course, he was my baby brother, riding in the back seat of the car for hours on our trips to Florida (the only vacation place we ever went) singing the "Ma-na-ma-na" Sesame Street song and playing the license plate game.
Chris loved movies and was always the guy to beat at trivia. He knew minutiae about Jaws that nobody knows. "What was the last movie you saw?" was a common question whenever we got together. He was a huge Godzilla fan. I remember Saturday afternoons as he was watching yet another Godzilla versus something movie on channel 43. He enjoyed playing Words with Friends (he knew words with 'q' and not 'u'). Star Wars was huge in his life. He'd tell you all about what was canon, what was not, and he read countless Star Wars novels. But his favorite hobby was golf, just like his dad. There was one weekend when he had Friday and Saturday night gigs but there was a golfing tournament that he had to go to. No problem, golf in the day, guitar at night. Do-able. Except the gig was somewhere in Akron and the golf tournament was in Marietta. Two and a half hours, one way. And he did it. Flying down the highway at 1 o'clock in the morning to get that 8AM tee time, driving much too fast to 'frighten' himself awake. Time spent on the golf course with his dad, there are just some things that are too important to miss.
The true measure of a man is not only in his pursuits, hobbies and career. Chris was 'a good man'. He just was. He was generous and kind, funny and wicked smart. His sarcasm gene was strong. He welcomed new guitar students of all skills and taught them everything he knew. Chris was a great friend. He never married or had kids; the right person just never came along but he had filled his life with found family along the way. He loved his friends, Donna and Mike Rasicci and Jana Ferguson. Jana's three kids put a light in Chris' eyes. He was a stand-in dad to Braydon, Kyleigh and Sheldon, although there is no blood shared. He kept in touch with friends from high school, playing in a band with Keith Werstler.
The last 10 years or so, Chris was often found at auctions for houses and storage units, bidding on a box of bric a brac and turning them around to sell on eBay, MarketPlace, Hartville Flea Market and wherever else he could find a buyer. He would often tell me about the thing that we bought for a dollar and sold for $50 or some other large profit margin. He was always on the lookout for that golden treasure. He built relationships with many folks on that circuit, including Tom Klimko. "Do you need anything for the house? I can get you one!"
And I would be remiss if I did not mention his insatiable sweet tooth and his devotion to Nestle Quik. He'd drink chocolate milk made with Hershey's syrup, but it was Quik (38 oz container, if he could get it) that was a constant.
The depth of my sadness cannot be expressed here. He was my brother, my family, my ties to the past, that blood thicker than water thing. It's hard to imagine a future without him in it.
Chris' parents John and Eileen Watts have passed as well as his uncles Ed Bates and Don Bates, Aunt Carolee Geer (Aaron) and cousin Kevin Bonzo (Mary). Picking up the threads to carry on: "It's yer Seester" Kelly Gombert (Rich), nieces Kate Gombert, Olivia Kent (Matt), Aunt Diana and Uncle Pete Wayand. The eight of us cousins grew up like siblings so I include Mike Bonzo (Debbie), Troy Geer (Becky), Tracy Keys (Tom), Hollee Keller (Mike) and Lee Wayand (Beth).
The family will receive friends 4-7PM Friday, February 28, 2025 at Johnson-Romito Funeral Home, 99 W. Aurora Rd. (Rt. 82, one mile west of Rt. 8), Northfield Center, OH 44067 (330-468-1443). www.johnsonromito.com