Perkinsville – Joan Nichols Hicks Watson, died peacefully Monday, May 20, 2019, surrounded by her family. She was 89 years old. 

Born August 3, 1929 in Springfield, VT, she was the only and adored child of the late Helen (LaVenture) and Henry Hicks.

She attended local Perkinsville schools and graduated from Springfield High School, class of 1947. Joan attended Syracuse University for two years before transferring to Bay Path College. While home for the summer and staying at the family home on Lake Morey, she got a job as a waitress at the Rutledge Inn. It was there that she met Willard Harold “Bud” Watson, Jr. who was vacationing with his family from Connecticut. They married at the Perkinsville Community Church in 1951 and spent the next 62 years together before he predeceased her in 2013.

After marrying Bud, they moved to Alaska, where he was stationed in the United States Army. Following his honorable discharge, they returned to his hometown of Huntington, Connecticut, where they raised their four children. Though they lived in Connecticut, Joan never forgot her Vermont roots and returned as often as possible. She and her children went to Lake Morey the day after school adjourned for the summer and stayed until the day before it started again in the fall. They skied at Okemo every weekend in the winter; and as soon as they could, they returned to Vermont full-time. 

Joan was a fabulous cook who loved to entertain and could find any excuse for a party. She and Bud hosted mystery dinners, Twister parties, St. Patrick’s Day festivities, and anything else she could find occasion to celebrate. She and her dear and loyal friend, Diana Hake Oberg, laughed for years about their infamous Groundhog’s Day parties.

She was an avid skier and later took up golf, which she really enjoyed. She loved the beach. She and Bud spent their winters in New Smyrna Beach, FL and she took her entire family to Maine for a week each summer. She loved her boxers, each one more poorly behaved than the last. There was nothing that made her happier than being with her family, sitting on the porch of her house at Lake Morey.

Joan is survived by her four children and their spouses: Jody Dodge and her husband Brian, of Murrells Inlet, SC; Willard H. Watson, III and his wife Beth, of Dorset; Kimberly Lewis and her husband Gary, of Perkinsville; and John Watson and his wife Lisa, of Perkinsville; her ten grandchildren: Trevor Dodge and his wife Katherine, Samantha Dodge Johnson, Kara Watson, Willard H. Watson, IV, Molly Watson, Cole Lewis and his fiancee, Claire, Devin Lewis, Karson Lewis, Madisyn Watson, and Henry Watson; and her three great-grandchildren: Cooper, Emery, and Lakelyn. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Jean Wetrich of Falls Church, VA. 

The Watson family expresses their profound gratitude to the staff at Equinox Terrace for the loving and compassionate care they provided during Joan’s final days and throughout the nearly six years she lived there.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 2:00 at the Perkinsville Community Church. Pastor George Keeler will officiate. Interment will be private at Plains Cemetery, Perkinsville, VT. Arrangements are under the direction of Davis Memorial Chapel in Springfield.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Joan’s memory may be made to the Lake Morey Protective Association, PO Box 241, Fairlee, VT 05045-0241.