Watson Wyatt

Retired U.S. Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Watson E. Wyatt, age 91, of Tuscaloosa, died Oct. 2, 2011, at home. Services will be 11 a.m. today at Magnolia Chapel Funeral Home South with The Rev. Mike Keeble officiating. Burial with full military honors will follow in Big Sandy Community Cemetery with Magnolia Chapel Funeral Home South directing. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the funeral home. Watson was preceded in death by his parents, William Franklin and Ada Montgomery Wyatt; sisters, Ruth Skelton, Erma Rhone, and Wilma Taylor; and brothers, Willard, Warren, and William. Survivors include his wife, Elwanda Pender Wyatt of Tuscaloosa; stepsons, Gary L. Johnson and Phillip Johnson (Cindy); grandson, Brett Johnson (Katie); and granddaughter, Beth Johnson, all of Tuscaloosa; sisters-in-law, Linda Wyatt of Cullman and Mamie Wyatt of West Palm Beach, Fla.; and several loving nieces and nephews. 1st Sgt. Wyatt joined the Marines in 1939, serving in action in World War II and the Korean Conflict and was awarded a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star during World War II. After a meritorious military career he owned and operated Phillips 66 Service Station and General Store in the Big Sandy community for 37 years. In 1964 he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Precinct 18, Tuscaloosa County. He was instrumental in the development of Englewood-Hulls Water System and served as Secretary and Treasurer for several years. Watson enjoyed the bounties of nature, but first and foremost, he loved and cared for his family. Honorary pallbearers are friends and former customers of Big Sandy and Oak Grove communities; his special caregivers from Hospice of West Alabama, Joy and Sheila; DCH Home Health Care; Dr. George Miller, Dr. William Hill, Dr. Richard Poore, Dr. David Hinton, and Dr. Charles Gross. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of West Alabama, Big Sandy United Methodist Church, or Big Sandy Community Cemetery Fund.