Stanley Arnold Watkins

Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford

Stanley Arnold Watkins passed away on January 29, 2026, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Mississippi.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, February 7, from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford (601 Commerce Parkway, Oxford, MS, 38655). The funeral service celebrating his life will begin immediately following the visitation in the chapel of Coleman Funeral Home.

Stanley was born on June 10, 1950, in Hornersville, Missouri, but moved to Abbeville, Mississippi, as a young child and resided there the remainder of his life. Stanley graduated from Lafayette High School and attended Northwest Mississippi Community College and Mississippi State University before receiving his degree from the University of Mississippi in Exercise Science.

After graduation, Stanley worked as a Private Investigator for a Memphis firm and then began work for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Services for thirty-six years.

Stanley met Alice Goines in 1986, and they married on Dec. 4, 1987, and remained happily married for 38 years until his death. Their devotion to one another was apparent to all. Alice was with Stanley through all his procedures, surgeries, and treatments during his almost six-year battle with cancer. During that time, he continued to live life to the fullest and was a favorite of health care workers wherever he went.

Stanley was an avid outdoorsman, loving hunting and fishing, He also was extremely knowledgeable about the plants and animals of North Mississippi. Before Google, when any family member had questions about what a certain tree was or what kind of bird or snake or other "critter" they had encountered, they asked Stanley.

Stanley had a fun-loving nature, often playing pranks or "pulling people's legs" with a good tale. However, he could not hold a candle to his wife Alice, the "Queen of Practical Jokes." Stanley loved his immediate and extended family, always ready for any family gathering, especially if it involved a corn hole competition.

Stanley was preceded in death by his parents, Harvie and Juanita Watkins, and a brother, Steve Watkins.

Stanley is survived by his wife Alice Goines Watkins, his sisters Peggy Thomas (Keith, deceased), Penny Colston (Bob), Pam Brown (Jim, deceased), and Patty Lusby (Joe), and his brother, Stacy Watkins (Martha) as well as his cherished stepmother, Bobbie Watkins, and stepsister Kristy Hollowell (Kerry). In addition, he leaves behind many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews, who loved their Uncle Stanley.

Stanley's legacy is one of a man who enjoyed life and was loved by many friends and family who will continue to share stories of their times with him.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to American Cancer Society (https://donate.cancer.org).

The staff at Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford is honored to serve the family during this challenging season of life. Condolences may be expressed online on his Tribute wall at www.colemanfuneralhomeox.com