James R. Watson, 75, died June 3, 2003, at St. Peter's Hospital in Helena after a long illness. He was born June 22, 1927, in Birmingham, Ala., to C.H. and Willard Watson, the youngest of two children. After graduating from Ensley High School, he joined the Navy and was stationed in Panama at the end of WWII as an Electrical Task Specialist 3rd Class later advancing to a Lieutenant JG. He also learned to fly while in Panama. After two years in the service, Jim returned to school and graduated from Auburn University with a degree in electrical engineering.
He married Marjorie Stewart in 1950. They had two children, Dianne and Larry. Jim and Margie ran a TV and appliance store in Birmingham until they divorced in 1961. He then moved to Huntsville where he worked at the Redstone Arsenal on the Saturn and Apollo space programs for five years before joining his sister, Dorothy Harper and family in Montana. Jim worked for Montana Microwave in Bozeman and Pocatello, the Highway Department and the Public Service Commission in Helena before retiring in 1984 after a stroke left him partially paralyzed.
An Eagle Scout in his earlier years, Jim loved the outdoors and spent many weekends hiking in the woods with his kids. He was best known for driving his cars to places they were never meant to go. Many a southern evening was spent stuck in the mud while he and his buddies tried to figure out how to rescue his car yet another time from some Alabama swamp, riverbed or forest. One afternoon Dianne and Jim slipped on the wet moss into a fast moving creek on a steep hillside, or as he preferred to tell it "we shot the rapids."He managed to grab Dianne just seconds before she was swept over a waterfall to the rocks below. He also survived a plane crash on a Florida beach. His passenger chose not to fly again but Jim did -- the very next day.
Jim traveled every state road in Montana, but he especially loved exploring the back roads on his trail bike. Perhaps the most exciting trip was the day he, Dianne and Larry discovered an unlisted, perfectly preserved ghost town of fifty houses or more, high in the mountains near Basin. An active member of the Parents Without Partners Group, Jim organized many outdoor activities for other single parents and their kids.
The annual Auburn-Alabama football game was Jim's favorite day of the year. Having maintained friendships with his school buddies back in Birmingham for over 50 years, he called them every year right after the big game. Jim also loved Paul Harvey and took great pride in the fact that he had never missed "the rest of the story" in over 20 years.
On Valentine's Day, 1982, Jim married Marta (Pouliot) Ricci. They spent many happy years traveling. They enjoyed working on projects together, especially building rocking horses for their grandkids. After a cruise through the Panama Canal, Jim wrote an article to encourage other disabled people to get out and travel.
Life took a sad turn in 1992 when Jim's son, Larry was diagnosed with AIDS. In the process of caring for Larry, a very special friendship developed between Jim, Marta and his first wife, Marjorie, amazing everyone. Marjorie, Marta and Jim worked side-by-side sewing panels for the AIDS quilt to commemorate the son they all loved. After Larry died, Marjorie and Marta accompanied Dianne and Ron on a tour of Georgia as roommates, which raised more than a few eyebrows much to Jim's delight. Despite his stroke and many close calls with death in recent years, Jim never lost his zest for life. He bore each new loss of freedom with the utmost dignity and courage. He was a survivor.
In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by his son Larry and Larry's twin, Allen Ray, who died at birth; his niece, Jannie Harper; and his first wife, Marjorie Tucker. He is survived by his devoted wife of 21 years, Marta; daughter and son-in-law, Dianne and Ron Armstrong; sister Dorothy Harper and the Rev. George Harper; nephews Rusty Harper and wife Pat and children Robin and Molly; Hal Harper and wife Janet; Steve Harper and wife Pam and children Hannah and Becca; niece Nancy Harper and husband Michael and daughter Emily; stepchildren Timothy Ricci of Yuma, Ariz., and children Ryan, Dyan, and David; Tina Kendall of Falmouth, Mass., and husband Brian and children Jason, Charles, Amanda and Christina; special friends Sister Elizabeth Henry, and Steve and Jeanne Frye.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6, at St. Paul's United Methodist Church with the Rev. George Harper officiating. Private family interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery at a later date. Memorials are suggested to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Building Fund, 505 Logan, Helena, MT 59601 or Hospice of St. Peter's, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601. Retz Funeral Home is caring for arrangements.
He married Marjorie Stewart in 1950. They had two children, Dianne and Larry. Jim and Margie ran a TV and appliance store in Birmingham until they divorced in 1961. He then moved to Huntsville where he worked at the Redstone Arsenal on the Saturn and Apollo space programs for five years before joining his sister, Dorothy Harper and family in Montana. Jim worked for Montana Microwave in Bozeman and Pocatello, the Highway Department and the Public Service Commission in Helena before retiring in 1984 after a stroke left him partially paralyzed.
An Eagle Scout in his earlier years, Jim loved the outdoors and spent many weekends hiking in the woods with his kids. He was best known for driving his cars to places they were never meant to go. Many a southern evening was spent stuck in the mud while he and his buddies tried to figure out how to rescue his car yet another time from some Alabama swamp, riverbed or forest. One afternoon Dianne and Jim slipped on the wet moss into a fast moving creek on a steep hillside, or as he preferred to tell it "we shot the rapids."He managed to grab Dianne just seconds before she was swept over a waterfall to the rocks below. He also survived a plane crash on a Florida beach. His passenger chose not to fly again but Jim did -- the very next day.
Jim traveled every state road in Montana, but he especially loved exploring the back roads on his trail bike. Perhaps the most exciting trip was the day he, Dianne and Larry discovered an unlisted, perfectly preserved ghost town of fifty houses or more, high in the mountains near Basin. An active member of the Parents Without Partners Group, Jim organized many outdoor activities for other single parents and their kids.
The annual Auburn-Alabama football game was Jim's favorite day of the year. Having maintained friendships with his school buddies back in Birmingham for over 50 years, he called them every year right after the big game. Jim also loved Paul Harvey and took great pride in the fact that he had never missed "the rest of the story" in over 20 years.
On Valentine's Day, 1982, Jim married Marta (Pouliot) Ricci. They spent many happy years traveling. They enjoyed working on projects together, especially building rocking horses for their grandkids. After a cruise through the Panama Canal, Jim wrote an article to encourage other disabled people to get out and travel.
Life took a sad turn in 1992 when Jim's son, Larry was diagnosed with AIDS. In the process of caring for Larry, a very special friendship developed between Jim, Marta and his first wife, Marjorie, amazing everyone. Marjorie, Marta and Jim worked side-by-side sewing panels for the AIDS quilt to commemorate the son they all loved. After Larry died, Marjorie and Marta accompanied Dianne and Ron on a tour of Georgia as roommates, which raised more than a few eyebrows much to Jim's delight. Despite his stroke and many close calls with death in recent years, Jim never lost his zest for life. He bore each new loss of freedom with the utmost dignity and courage. He was a survivor.
In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by his son Larry and Larry's twin, Allen Ray, who died at birth; his niece, Jannie Harper; and his first wife, Marjorie Tucker. He is survived by his devoted wife of 21 years, Marta; daughter and son-in-law, Dianne and Ron Armstrong; sister Dorothy Harper and the Rev. George Harper; nephews Rusty Harper and wife Pat and children Robin and Molly; Hal Harper and wife Janet; Steve Harper and wife Pam and children Hannah and Becca; niece Nancy Harper and husband Michael and daughter Emily; stepchildren Timothy Ricci of Yuma, Ariz., and children Ryan, Dyan, and David; Tina Kendall of Falmouth, Mass., and husband Brian and children Jason, Charles, Amanda and Christina; special friends Sister Elizabeth Henry, and Steve and Jeanne Frye.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6, at St. Paul's United Methodist Church with the Rev. George Harper officiating. Private family interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery at a later date. Memorials are suggested to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Building Fund, 505 Logan, Helena, MT 59601 or Hospice of St. Peter's, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601. Retz Funeral Home is caring for arrangements.
James R. Watson, 75, died June 3, 2003, at St. Peter's Hospital in Helena after a long illness. He was born June 22, 1927, in Birmingham, Ala., to C.H. and Willard Watson, the youngest of two children. After graduating from Ensley High School, he joined the Navy and was stationed in Panama at the end of WWII as an Electrical Task Specialist 3rd Class later advancing to a Lieutenant JG. He also learned to fly while in Panama. After two years in the service, Jim returned to school and graduated from Auburn University with a degree in electrical engineering.
He married Marjorie Stewart in 1950. They had two children, Dianne and Larry. Jim and Margie ran a TV and appliance store in Birmingham until they divorced in 1961. He then moved to Huntsville where he worked at the Redstone Arsenal on the Saturn and Apollo space programs for five years before joining his sister, Dorothy Harper and family in Montana. Jim worked for Montana Microwave in Bozeman and Pocatello, the Highway Department and the Public Service Commission in Helena before retiring in 1984 after a stroke left him partially paralyzed.
An Eagle Scout in his earlier years, Jim loved the outdoors and spent many weekends hiking in the woods with his kids. He was best known for driving his cars to places they were never meant to go. Many a southern evening was spent stuck in the mud while he and his buddies tried to figure out how to rescue his car yet another time from some Alabama swamp, riverbed or forest. One afternoon Dianne and Jim slipped on the wet moss into a fast moving creek on a steep hillside, or as he preferred to tell it "we shot the rapids."He managed to grab Dianne just seconds before she was swept over a waterfall to the rocks below. He also survived a plane crash on a Florida beach. His passenger chose not to fly again but Jim did -- the very next day.
Jim traveled every state road in Montana, but he especially loved exploring the back roads on his trail bike. Perhaps the most exciting trip was the day he, Dianne and Larry discovered an unlisted, perfectly preserved ghost town of fifty houses or more, high in the mountains near Basin. An active member of the Parents Without Partners Group, Jim organized many outdoor activities for other single parents and their kids.
The annual Auburn-Alabama football game was Jim's favorite day of the year. Having maintained friendships with his school buddies back in Birmingham for over 50 years, he called them every year right after the big game. Jim also loved Paul Harvey and took great pride in the fact that he had never missed "the rest of the story" in over 20 years.
On Valentine's Day, 1982, Jim married Marta (Pouliot) Ricci. They spent many happy years traveling. They enjoyed working on projects together, especially building rocking horses for their grandkids. After a cruise through the Panama Canal, Jim wrote an article to encourage other disabled people to get out and travel.
Life took a sad turn in 1992 when Jim's son, Larry was diagnosed with AIDS. In the process of caring for Larry, a very special friendship developed between Jim, Marta and his first wife, Marjorie, amazing everyone. Marjorie, Marta and Jim worked side-by-side sewing panels for the AIDS quilt to commemorate the son they all loved. After Larry died, Marjorie and Marta accompanied Dianne and Ron on a tour of Georgia as roommates, which raised more than a few eyebrows much to Jim's delight. Despite his stroke and many close calls with death in recent years, Jim never lost his zest for life. He bore each new loss of freedom with the utmost dignity and courage. He was a survivor.
In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by his son Larry and Larry's twin, Allen Ray, who died at birth; his niece, Jannie Harper; and his first wife, Marjorie Tucker. He is survived by his devoted wife of 21 years, Marta; daughter and son-in-law, Dianne and Ron Armstrong; sister Dorothy Harper and the Rev. George Harper; nephews Rusty Harper and wife Pat and children Robin and Molly; Hal Harper and wife Janet; Steve Harper and wife Pam and children Hannah and Becca; niece Nancy Harper and husband Michael and daughter Emily; stepchildren Timothy Ricci of Yuma, Ariz., and children Ryan, Dyan, and David; Tina Kendall of Falmouth, Mass., and husband Brian and children Jason, Charles, Amanda and Christina; special friends Sister Elizabeth Henry, and Steve and Jeanne Frye.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6, at St. Paul's United Methodist Church with the Rev. George Harper officiating. Private family interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery at a later date. Memorials are suggested to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Building Fund, 505 Logan, Helena, MT 59601 or Hospice of St. Peter's, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601. Retz Funeral Home is caring for arrangements.
He married Marjorie Stewart in 1950. They had two children, Dianne and Larry. Jim and Margie ran a TV and appliance store in Birmingham until they divorced in 1961. He then moved to Huntsville where he worked at the Redstone Arsenal on the Saturn and Apollo space programs for five years before joining his sister, Dorothy Harper and family in Montana. Jim worked for Montana Microwave in Bozeman and Pocatello, the Highway Department and the Public Service Commission in Helena before retiring in 1984 after a stroke left him partially paralyzed.
An Eagle Scout in his earlier years, Jim loved the outdoors and spent many weekends hiking in the woods with his kids. He was best known for driving his cars to places they were never meant to go. Many a southern evening was spent stuck in the mud while he and his buddies tried to figure out how to rescue his car yet another time from some Alabama swamp, riverbed or forest. One afternoon Dianne and Jim slipped on the wet moss into a fast moving creek on a steep hillside, or as he preferred to tell it "we shot the rapids."He managed to grab Dianne just seconds before she was swept over a waterfall to the rocks below. He also survived a plane crash on a Florida beach. His passenger chose not to fly again but Jim did -- the very next day.
Jim traveled every state road in Montana, but he especially loved exploring the back roads on his trail bike. Perhaps the most exciting trip was the day he, Dianne and Larry discovered an unlisted, perfectly preserved ghost town of fifty houses or more, high in the mountains near Basin. An active member of the Parents Without Partners Group, Jim organized many outdoor activities for other single parents and their kids.
The annual Auburn-Alabama football game was Jim's favorite day of the year. Having maintained friendships with his school buddies back in Birmingham for over 50 years, he called them every year right after the big game. Jim also loved Paul Harvey and took great pride in the fact that he had never missed "the rest of the story" in over 20 years.
On Valentine's Day, 1982, Jim married Marta (Pouliot) Ricci. They spent many happy years traveling. They enjoyed working on projects together, especially building rocking horses for their grandkids. After a cruise through the Panama Canal, Jim wrote an article to encourage other disabled people to get out and travel.
Life took a sad turn in 1992 when Jim's son, Larry was diagnosed with AIDS. In the process of caring for Larry, a very special friendship developed between Jim, Marta and his first wife, Marjorie, amazing everyone. Marjorie, Marta and Jim worked side-by-side sewing panels for the AIDS quilt to commemorate the son they all loved. After Larry died, Marjorie and Marta accompanied Dianne and Ron on a tour of Georgia as roommates, which raised more than a few eyebrows much to Jim's delight. Despite his stroke and many close calls with death in recent years, Jim never lost his zest for life. He bore each new loss of freedom with the utmost dignity and courage. He was a survivor.
In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by his son Larry and Larry's twin, Allen Ray, who died at birth; his niece, Jannie Harper; and his first wife, Marjorie Tucker. He is survived by his devoted wife of 21 years, Marta; daughter and son-in-law, Dianne and Ron Armstrong; sister Dorothy Harper and the Rev. George Harper; nephews Rusty Harper and wife Pat and children Robin and Molly; Hal Harper and wife Janet; Steve Harper and wife Pam and children Hannah and Becca; niece Nancy Harper and husband Michael and daughter Emily; stepchildren Timothy Ricci of Yuma, Ariz., and children Ryan, Dyan, and David; Tina Kendall of Falmouth, Mass., and husband Brian and children Jason, Charles, Amanda and Christina; special friends Sister Elizabeth Henry, and Steve and Jeanne Frye.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6, at St. Paul's United Methodist Church with the Rev. George Harper officiating. Private family interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery at a later date. Memorials are suggested to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Building Fund, 505 Logan, Helena, MT 59601 or Hospice of St. Peter's, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601. Retz Funeral Home is caring for arrangements.
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