Robert Floyd Watson

Robert Floyd Watson was born to Ross Floyd Watson and Jewerline Ware Watson on November 27, 1942, in Houston. Shortly thereafter, they moved back to the Watson family ranch and homestead, just west of Palo Pinto, Texas.Bob and his older brother, Bill, attended Palo Pinto schools until high school, when they started the daily trip into Mineral Wells High. Upon graduation in 1959, he enjoyed a brief stint at Texas Tech University, his father's alma mater, which he would later describe as a year in which he contributed a whole lot to the Student Union and a whole lot of nothin to the classroom. Always the patient and understanding man, his daddy approved of Bob's transfer to the University of North Texas, where he applied the lessons learned from his Lubbock days and graduated in three short years. Bates School of Law at the University of Houston followed, where he made the Law Review his first year and clerked for Judge John R. Brown, Chief Justice of the 5th Circuit of Appeals. During the two years he clerked, he traveled to New Orleans on a regular basis where the court sat en banc and witnessed the making of civil rights history in the hands of Judge Brown and his fellow justices. After graduating law school, he went to work for the Harris County District Attorney's office for a bit and then entered private practice as a criminal defense attorney.Whilst working for the D.A.'s office in 1969, Bob met Carol Sue Nichols on a blind date set up by their respective roommates. Carol cooked pork chops and wild rice for their dinner, and he was smitten. They married two years later in her parents' Abilene home, on April 21, 1971. Marrying into the Nichols family, Bob gained the everlasting love and devotion of two more parents, George and Mickey Nichols. In 1973, Bob and Carol moved to Mineral Wells to start a family, and Shelley Leigh was born a year later. Ten short months afterward, Nikki Lynne came along and their hearts (and hands!) were full.In 1973, Bob opened up a general law practice in Mineral Wells that served a diverse population of folks, keeping him enthused (and some times amused) by the task at hand. In spite of bearing witness to the difficult realities of life, he maintained an optimism for humankind and a love of the law. In 1975, he was appointed Municipal Judge, a post he held for thirty nine years, making him one of the most tenured city court judges in the state of Texas.A lifelong yellow dog democrat, Bob tirelessly campaigned for the party, even when it wasn't popular, and continued to support local candidates until he died. He felt an obligation to take care of those who didn't have it as good as he did, and passed that trait on to his daughters. No one tipped better than Bob, and he never passed a panhandler without giving them a ten or twenty dollar bill. He didn't judge why people were in the spot they were in, he just wanted the opportunity to help them. Countless times, Bob picked up folks from the side of the road who looked like they could use a ride, even going as far as providing lodging, a new bike or bus fare for his new acquaintance.Growing up in the isolation of rural ranch land was not conducive to a robust social life. He would say that as much as he wanted to run around with friends in town, it was too far to drive, and too many chores were to be done. So when he started a family, he made sure to live in town on a busy street that encouraged a constant flurry of activity in the Watson house. The dining table was the hub of their home, and it was rare for Carol to set the table for just the four of them. A kitchen towel poised on his shoulder, Bob reveled in the feeding of Shelley and Nikki's friends, particularly the boys, especially Jeremy Blohowiak, John Joyner, Shane McAnally and neighbor Scott O'Neal, whom he would goad in to "just one more bite" of whatever was on the menu. (The pork chops and wild rice were still on the rotation, all those many years later.)If a kid needed a place to stay for a few days or even for a season, they always had a home in the Watson house, and the more, the better, as far as Bob was concerned. Family vacations were frequent, and the kids never went without a buddy. That tradition continued, with his oldest grandson, Cade, bringing an entourage of friends to the family vacation at the beach in Seaside every summer for the last six years. "The Seaside Boys", as they came to be called, were the highlight of Bob's vacation. "Watson", the Boys' nickname for him, held court every night that he could get all thirteen family members and friends around the dinner table, regaling everyone with his ridiculous breadth of knowledge surrounding sports and stumping them with riddles passed along to him by his daddy.When the girls left home to start their own adventures, Bob's obsession with rare book collecting flourished. He, Carol, Mike Mask and anyone else he could drag along would make road trips all over the state and beyond. The Watson Collection took on a life of its own and he enjoyed relationships with dealers all across the country, reaching beyond books into ephemera of all sorts. His favorite haunt was Booked Up in Archer City, manned by the lovely Krystal and Jan in place of the store's owner, Larry McMurtry, with whom he shared an affinity of literature and rare books.After forty years in their 7th Avenue home on the mountain in Mineral Wells, Carol convinced Bob to move eastward, closer to Shelley and Nikki and their families in Fort Worth. Weatherford was as far as he would go, and they made numerous friends in their neighborhood and at the little Methodist church in Annetta. To the surprise of Carol and the girls, Bob found his calling in teaching Sunday School and took the job as seriously as his law practice. Tireless preparation for his lessons, coupled with years of trial rhetoric, made him a formidable teacher. He delighted in calling on the meekest members of the class and thoroughly enjoyed the week long debates and conversations that would often ensue. He was much loved and respected by his students.His love of books was only eclipsed by the adoration and devotion he felt for his wife, best friend, and partner in crime, Carol, and he told anyone who would listen that the most prized possessions in his life were her, their daughters, his son-in-law and his precious grandchildren.Ever the list-maker, Bob relished the time he had at home with hospice that resulted in the detailed planning of his own Memorial Service, dictating exacting instructions as to how to proceed with the various collections he treasured, where he would like his ashes spread, and a heartfelt, albeit lengthy, list of honorary pallbearers which follows: his grandsons, Cade Fuller and Bo Juliao; son-in-law, Sam Juliao; brother-in-law, George Nichols; cousins Gorman Ware, Phillip Ware, R. J. Ware, Jr., and R.J. Ware III; friends and colleagues Jim Ashby, Judge Todd Baker, Bobby Glasgow, Judge Bobby Hart, Mike Mask, Judge Michael Moore and Judge David Nicklas; friends David Bourquin, Michael Franklin, Steve Loyd, Mike McAllester, Jim McLennan and David Risinger; and the "Seaside Boys", Jonny Clum, Dalton Dry, Obie Hallum, Austin Meadows, and Oliver "Cromwell" Newberry.After ten courageous years of living with a rare and incurable disease, Bob was called home to his Lord and Savior on Wednesday, August 27, 2014. Memorial services are 11 AM Saturday, August 30, 2014 at First United Methodist Church in Mineral Wells.Survived by his darling wife of forty three years, Carol Sue Nichols Watson; daughter, Shelley Leigh Watson Juliao and and her husband Samuel Juliao III, and their children, Isabel Hart Juliao and Boston Hart Juliao of Fort Worth; daughter, Nikki Lynne Watson Erb and her children, Michael Cade Fuller and Caroline Sue Erb of Fort Worth; brother, William Ross Watson of Houston; brother and sister-in-law, George Hart and Tootsie Nichols of Abilene; brother-in law, Phillip Charles Nichols of Abilene; numerous and beloved Watson, Ware and Nichols nephews, nieces and cousins all over the country; foreign exchange students who became sons, Eduardo Pineda of Barcelona, Spain, and Manuel Samaniego, formerly of Santiago, Panama, and currently of Austin; and lastly, Steve and Debbie Loyd, wonderful friends who have become family to the Watsons over 40 years of caring for them in more ways than one.Bob asked that his ashes be divided and spread at the Jack County ranch of his best running buddy, Mike Mask, and all over the beach and town of Seaside, Florida, his favorite vacation spot.Carol, Shel, Nik and Sam would like to extend their most sincere gratitude to Team Three of Vitas Hospice, particularly the nurses B.C., Cheryl, Curtis, Dani, Darla, Ernestina, Kristy, Larissa, Sheila, and Wendy, Dr. Susan Weathers, and Chaplain David Garcia, who gave more than their expertise in caring for Bob and his loved ones. We are also indebted to Sela Finau and the congregation of Annetta United Methodist Church, as well as countless neighbors, friends and co-workers who have lifted us up in prayer, kept us fed, and shared their favorite memories, shenanigans and Watson-isms with us.Knowing Carol's past history with indoor house plants and not one to appreciate a bunch of "frilly green stuff and flowers laying around", Bob specifically requested that memorials be made to Annetta United Methodist Church in lieu of flowers.