Edith Jones Watson's Obituary
Edith Jones-Watson
Queen Mother Edith Jones-Watson was born on February 6, 1938 in Paris, Arkansas to the parents of Rena and George Rufus Jones. She was the youngest of their five children. Shortly after her birth, her mother passed away. Her father remarried Leoma Williams and had eight more children. Her grandmother, Trupie Jones, mostly raised her. In 1956, Queen Mother Edith graduated from Lincoln High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she played basketball. Shortly thereafter she moved to Dayton, Ohio for a better life. She then started a family and was blessed with three beautiful children (Dr. Robin Jones, Roberta Walker, (deceased), Oscar Jones.
In 1967, she moved her family to Tacoma, Washington. She attended Bates Technical College and became a seamstress. She loved to sew, often making clothing for her children, family and friends. As a single parent, she worked hard to raise her children. She was a faithful member and long time stewardess at Miles Memorial C.M.E. Church, Tacoma, Washington.
In 1982, she made history by becoming the first African American female correctional officer at the Washington State Penitentiary located in Walla Walla, Washington. She utilized her keen senses to supervise the prison visiting room for contraband. In 1987, she received the Correctional Officer of the Year Award given by Washington State Governor Dan Evans.
In 1991, she married her old sweetheart, Willie Carl Watson (deceased), and retired to Henderson, North Carolina, then later to Greenville, Georgia. In 2004, she became disabled and moved to Seattle, Washington, to live with her daughter. In spite of her disability, she developed a new lease on life. She enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, going to the casino and the Southeast Seattle Senior Center. She was a very kind and giving woman, who fed the needy, clothed the poor and took in homeless children, relatives and friends. She is best remembered for her soul food cooking, family barbeques, and fancy quilts. She was a divine, out-spoken, beloved matriarch in the Jones Family. She made the transition to an ancestor on June 28, 2008, after battling an unexpected illness. Although she is no longer with us in the physical realm, her spirit lives forever in our hearts. Just call on her and she will come.
She is preceded in death: husband, Willie Carl Watson; grandparents, Trupie and Elmer Jones; parents, (mother) Rena Jones and (father) George Rufus Jones, (stepmother), Leoma Jones; daughter, Roberta Walker; two sisters, Rose Ann Wood, Mary Stewart; two brothers, Henry Jones, Don Jones.
Queen Mother Edith leaves to cherish her memory: daughter, Dr. Robin Jones (Russell Hebert); son, Oscar Jones (Michelle Jones); sisters, Margaret Bruce, Debbie Ugbade (Festus Ugbade), Linda May (Earl May), Nina Jones; brothers, William George Jones, Rufus Eugene Jones, Robert Jones (Leona Jones), Kenneth Jones (Mary Jones); five grandchildren, Rena Walker, Nathanael Walker, Adaiah Walker, Myles Jones, Lauren Jones; lots of nieces and nephews; other relatives and friends; best friend, Gloria -Å"Bingee- Bingham.
Viewing will be Monday July 7, 2008 from 1-9:00 PM at Mountain View Funeral Home in Tacoma, Washington, WA. Funeral services are at 1:00 PM Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at Miles Memorial C.M.E. Church, 1601 South L St., Tacoma, WA.
Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home. 584-0252. Please sign online guest book at www.mountainviewtacoma.com.
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