Emmalou (Rogers) Watson

Emmalou (Rogers) Watson - Submitted for the USGenWeb by Richard P. Sevier May 23, 2015

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Emmalou (Rogers) Watson - Madison Parish, Louisiana

From Anchorage Alaska Dispatch News May 23, 2015

Emmalou (Rogers) Watson passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 24, 2014, while a resident of the Palmer Veterans and Pioneer Home in Palmer, Alaska. She was born in Elkland, Mich., on June 9, 1922, to Ray C. Rogers and Sarah (Schearer) Rogers of Cass City, Mich.

Emmalou attended school at Wenonah St. School in Bay City, Mich., and Gladwin elementary to high school in Gladwin, Mich. She attended Albion College for Pre-Sociology from 1940-1941, and Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant for Social Work from 1942-1943. She enlisted in the U.S. Navy (WAVE) during WWII and was on active duty from 1943 through 1945, working at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Oakland, Hunter Point and San Francisco, Calif. While there, she met Wilford "Bill" Watson Jr. of Tallulah, La., who was also with the U.S. Navy and stationed in California.

They married on Nov. 10, 1944 in Oakland, Calif. After discharge in 1945, Emmalou worked as a caseworker in Tallulah, La., until they moved to Paris, Texas, in 1947. Their first son, Wilford "Dub" Jr., was born in 1946. Emmalou attended Paris Junior College studying gemology and jewelry design from 1949 thru 1951, when her second son, Roger "Wally," was born in 1951. The family moved to Gladwin, Mich., and in 1952, her daughter, Karen (Allam), was born. In 1953, Emmalou worked as a Social Aid caseworker from 1953 thru 1963, until her youngest son, Kelly was born in 1963. She also worked as a caseworker in Midland, Mich., for a brief time after Kelly's birth.

Bill and Emmalou owned and operated Watson's Jewelry store in Gladwin, Mich., for many years and later moved to West Branch, Mich., where she worked for a door company while Bill worked in the real estate field. When Bill passed in 1982, Emmalou moved to Alaska, to be near her children. She joined the American Legion Post 21 as well as the Sourdough Chapter of Sweet Adelines and spent many years enjoying these venues, including performing in Carnegie Hall. Emmalou's favorite past time through life was singing: she belonged to many choirs most recent being the First United Methodist Church choir in Anchorage for many years. She loved to travel and took many trips abroad.

Emmalou was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Bill Rogers; and sister, Ann Morgan. She leaves behind her sister, Dorothy Grove of Gladwin, Mich.; her sons, Dub (Wilford) and Wally (Roger) of Anchorage, Alaska, and Kelly and his partner, Steve Sussman of Haiku, Hawaii; daughter, Karen and her husband, David Allam of Wasilla, Alaska; grandchildren, Tavis Allam and wife, Dawn (Farden) of Aberdeen, S.D., and Tammy (Allam) Teeter and husband, Dana of Anchorage, Alaska; and her great-grandchildren, Alec and Austin Teeter and TJ (Tavis Jr.), Mason and Truman Allam.

There will be a family gathering in Anchorage on June 14, 2015, to celebrate her life and another in Hawaii at a later date.