Rev.
Dr. Larry M. Watson
The
Rev. Dr. Larry M. Watson, 53. of Route 2, Quincy, the administrator
of Good Samaritan Home for 10 years, died at 10:20 a.m. Saturday,
June 9, 1990, in Blessing Hospital.
"Almost anyone you ask on the street would
say something nice about him," said the Rev. William Foose, a friend
of Mr. Watson for 25 years and co-worker for eight years. He was imaginative
and ambitious. Those are the two words that come to my mind at this
time," Foose said of him. "Wherever he went, he put a lot of life
into his work."
The Rev. Robert Strong, associate administrator
of Good Samaritan, said, "Dr. Watson was very much concerned about
the residents of Good Samaritan Home." He was a caring person
and the residents of Good Samaritan were always No. 1. Strong also
called Mr. Watson a man of vision who developed new programs and services
for the residents, including the residential cottages and the aquatic
center now under construction.
"He was a nice guy to work with," said Wilbur
Sittler, a member of the Uncle Sams volunteer group at Good Samaritan.
"I think his relationship with the residents was very good."
Mr. Watson was born February 21, 1937, in
Quincy, a son of Melvin "Pete" and Leona Wellman Watson. He married
Sylvia Holtman June 20, 1959, in Ursa. She survives.
Mr. Watson graduated from Quincy High School
in 1955 and from Elmhurst College in 1959 with a bachelor's degree.
He graduated from Eden Theological Seminary in 1963 and received his
doctorate from there in 1974.
Mr. Watson was pastor of St. John United Church
of Christ in Fort Madison, Iowa, and part-time chaplain at Iowa State
Penitentiary from 1963 to 1969. He served as minister at Kirkwood
Missouri United Church of Christ for eight years until 1977, and was
associated conference minister of the Rocky Mountain Conference of
the United Church of Christ in Denver, Colorado for three years until
1980.
From 1980 to the present, Mr. Watson was administrator
of Good Samaritan Home. In 1988, Good Samaritan Home received the
Governor's Cup Award.
Mr. Watson also taught at John
Wood Community College and Quincy
College. A member of Salem Evangelical United Church of Christ,
Mr. Watson also was a member of the YMCA Board, and a member of the
Quincy Rotary Club, from which he received the Paul Harris Fellow
Award this May. He also was a board member of CHHSM United Church
of Christ, organizer of Kids of Missouri, a group providing help for
disabled students; a former member of the Kirkwood school board; and
was voted the 1974 Citizen of the Year by the Kirkwood Chamber of
Commerce.
Mr. Watson's hobbies included his horses,
woodworking, skiing and working with young people. He coached youth
football and baseball teams.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Paul
Watson of Quincy, Mark Watson of Chicago, and David Watson of Evansville,
Wisconsin; a sister, Mrs. John (Delores) Wheelock of Hutsonville,
Michigan; and several nieces and nephews. Services were conducted
in Salem Evangelical United Church of Christ by the Rev. James Mory
and the Rev. Rob Hartman. Burial was at Greenmount Cemetery. Zehender
Robinson Stormer Cookson Funeral Home was
in charge of the arrangements.
