William Tillery Watson

A memorial service for Mr. William Tillery Watson, 82, of Monroe, LA, will be held at 3:00 P.M. Saturday, April 20, 2024, in the chapel of Mulhearn Funeral Home Sterlington Rd., Monroe, LA, with Rev. William Smith officiating. Visitation will be held from 2:00 P.M. until service time at the funeral home.

William Tillery Watson, 82, passed peacefully from his earthly life on April 9, 2024. William was born on August 1, 1941 in Baton Rouge, LA to Irma Tillery and Thomas Bryan Watson.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Thomas Bryan Watson and David Eugene Watson, one sister, Catherine Watson Prichard, and his best friend and brother-in-law, Lawrence S. Prichard.

William graduated from Ouachita Parish High School in 1959 and still enjoyed socializing with many of his classmates. He joined the United States Army where he became an intelligence analyst, working with the National Security Agency. Upon discharge from the military, he became an electrical apprentice, beginning his lifelong career as an electrician with IBEW 446. William married Dorothy Louise Stephenson in 1965 and they settled in Monroe, LA to begin their family.

In retirement, William loved traveling with his family and “fixing” things around his house and his daughter’s house, whether they needed fixing or not. Grass never grew under William’s feet and his family depended on him to keep things running. He was the strong, solid, steady rock of his family.

William was a husband, father, grandfather, and a man of great character. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Dorothy Stephenson Watson; daughter, Susan Watson Erskine of Monroe, LA,; son, William Bryan Watson (Brett) of Iowa City, IA; six grandsons, Joshua Erskine, Owen Erskine, Luke Erskine, Beckett Watson, Beau Watson, and Banks Watson; and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Heart Association.