Jane Watson passed away in San Antonio, Texas on June 17, 2018 in hospice care. Martha Jane Watson was born in Brownwood, Texas to Thelma Walker Watson and W. Lee (Leesy) Watson on May 14, 1934.
Jane graduated from Brownwood High School, where she was a member of the marching band. A fond memory of hers was marching in the Battle of Flowers parade in San Antonio with the band. She attended Incarnate Word College (University) in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. For a time, she was a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word (C. C.V.I.) in San Antonio and remained close to the Order throughout her life.
Jane taught first grade at a parochial school and was a legal secretary in San Antonio following her graduation from college. Later, she attended the Warden School of Counseling at Our Lady of the Lake College (University) in San Antonio. She then became a family counselor in Fort Worth, Texas. After several years of practicing there, she established her own family counseling practice in Arlington, Texas, where she practiced until her retirement in 2001. In 2003, she moved to the Village at Incarnate Word, a retirement community in San Antonio, where she resided until the time of her death.
While living in Arlington, Jane was actively involved with her church, Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, and with many charitable organizations, most notably the Ulster Project, an ecumenical endeavor to bring Catholic and Protestant teens from Northern Ireland to Arlington for a month to meet and interact on neutral ground.
She had a lifelong enjoyment and appreciation of classical music, holding season tickets for opera performances for many years. Living a well-rounded life, Jane also loved baseball, her mother’s favorite sport. She was a big Texas Rangers fan, sometimes attending games with her pals Sister Frances and Sister Maggie, arguably the Rangers’ most enthusiastic fans. A thrill for her was attending Nolan Ryan’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Jane Watson was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters Mary Belle Watson Blagg and Ann Watson Schaffer; and her brother, Rev. William Lee Watson, Jr., O.M.I. She is survived by a first cousin, Ann Carey Pitcock of Houston; nieces and nephews Margaret Blagg, Bill Blagg and wife Didi, John Lee Blagg, and Mike Blagg, all of Brownwood; Lisa Schaffer, Martha Schaffer Nalepa and husband Karl, of Austin; grandnieces and nephews; and numerous other cousins.
Throughout Jane’s many years in San Antonio as a resident in the Incarnate Word Assisted Living Residence, Memory Care Center, and Extended Care Facility, she was loved and cared for by many health care professionals for whom her family has deep gratitude and appreciation. The family is also grateful to Jane’s dear friends W. Patrick Harris and Mike King, who lovingly managed Jane’s affairs during the long years of her extended illness, and to her devoted friend Sr. Corine Walsh for daily visits at Incarnate Word.
There will be a Rosary at Davis-Morris Funeral Home, Brownwood, at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 21. A funeral Mass will be said on Friday, June 22 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 1103 Main Avenue, Brownwood, Texas, followed by interment at Brownwood’s Greenleaf Cemetery. A Memorial Mass will be said for Jane at the Village at Incarnate Word in San Antonio at a later date.
Serving as Pall Bearers will be Bill Blagg, John Lee Blagg, Mike Blagg, Karl Nalepa, Walter Watson Leonard, and Patrick Harris. Mike King has been named Honorary Pall Bearer.
Memorials may be made to the Incarnate Word Sisters Retirement Fund, 4503 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209; St. Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church (mailing address: 1101 Booker St., Brownwood); the Alzheimer’s Association; or a charity of choice.
Part of the mission statement of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word states:
“Entrusted as we are with the mission of embodying the love of the Incarnate Word, we bear in mind that, whatever the form of our ministry, it is by means of our own lives that we witness most convincingly to the presence of Jesus Christ. We share our gifts in ministries of education, healthcare, social concerns and spirituality.” Though Jane Watson left the Order as a young woman, she nonetheless lived its mission in her teaching, her professional social work, her committed social projects, and her luminous spirituality.
Online memorials can be made at www.davismorrisfuneralhome.com
