Ann Watters

Ann was born in Montana in 1919 and raised by her aunt and uncle, a family doctor for 50 years, in Lacon, Illinois. She graduated with honors from the University of Illinois in 1941, not with the degree in nursing that she wanted but in secondary education. Ironically, her uncle whose life was devoted to medicine had selfishly dissuaded her so that she could stay close and care for them in their elder years, which she did. As World War II started, she taught high school English and speech and coached the drama club in Bradford, a small town in central Illinois. She met her first husband, John Howes, in Bradford and had three children, Tom, Sara, and Paul. She was a concert-quality pianist and organist, and her three children learned most of the Methodist hymnal from her as she played for choir practice. For ten years she raised her kids as a single mother in Decatur, IL, where she served three stints as a local PTA president while the children were in elementary school. In the late 1950s, she served the PTA nationally in a program, years ahead of its time, to combat child pornography. Oldest son, Tom Howes, who still lives in Bradford, worked for 30+ years at Caterpillar in Peoria, IL, and simultaneously worked as a local cop and an EMT. Daughter, Sara Stone is the chair of the journalism, public relations and new media department at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Youngest son, Paul is a lawyer in San Diego. She is also survived by son-in-law, Dr. Robert Barkley; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. She shared her life over the years with adored cats Kitty, Killer and Oreo; Rhett, her devoted black Lab, and Nebo and Sage, her loyal Australian Cattle Dogs. In 1960 she remarried, to Paul Watters, who spent his career with Paul Revere Life Insurance, and moved the two younger children to Tucson, where, after being held hostage in Illinois humidity for 40 years, she thought she had found paradise. After three years the family moved to New Mexico, where Paul and Sara attended the old Albuquerque High and where Ann taught English, speech and reading, first at the old and then at the new AHS for 29 years, retiring in October 1993 at the young age of 74. For the last 10 years of her teaching career, she had a large following as "The Story Lady" on the local educational radio station, KANW, and she brought an innovation to AHS later copied nationally: the entire school - save for one phone receptionist - shut down for 30 minutes while everyone read: students, coaches, cafeteria workers, janitors, teachers. She schlepped bags of books to school and then to the far reaches of the campus to sit with a different group for that half hour. In the dinosaur age before the Internet, iPhones and texting, for "The Reading Lady of AHS" it didn't matter what anyone read, as long as they read something, be it a driver's manual for those wanting to get a license; romance novels; newspapers; text books; People and Popular Mechanics; even magazines about heavy metal groups, skateboarding and monster trucks, which explains why, during one visit home, Paul was shocked to learn that his by-then 70-year-old Mother knew all the words to Metallica's greatest hits and all about the demolition-derby circuit for monster trucks with huge tires and bigger engines. She had been his speech teacher in the late 1960s, when he was a city and state champion for her National Forensic League speech team. For years she drove the team in the AHS "stretch-limo" to weekend tournaments all over New Mexico and southern Colorado and reveled in their success. She was a proud member of Bulldog City, a fixture at son Paul's class of 1968 reunions, along with her colleague, legendary basketball coach Jim Hulsman. And she is remembered so fondly by scores of students through the years, some of whom will never forget how she taught them English or speech or, for many, how to read. Just one testament to her impact on her students came from then Secretary of Public Education for the state of New Mexico, Veronica C. Garcia. On the occasion of Ann's 90th birthday party at El Pinto in May 2009 with 30 guests, Veronica wrote in an Albuquerque Journal Letter to the Editor, about how Mrs. Watters "was the No. 1 reason I didn't drop out of high school. She taught us, she had high expectations for us and, more importantly, she cared about us. ... She rounded up a 'Bad News Bears' group of kids and turned us into a speech team. ... Every child needs an important adult, in addition to their parents, who thinks they are pretty special. It's that one special adult who can make the difference between a graduate and a dropout. I'm living proof, and for that I want to say, thank you, Mrs. Watters, I couldn't have done it without you." Secretary Garcia started at AHS as a scared-to-death sophomore who, in speeches all over the world, always pays tribute to her speech-team coach and mentor who made all the difference in her life. Ann was fiercely independent - no, stubborn - and she loved to read and was a rabid sports fan, be it golf, baseball or football any time, and especially March Madness. Through the 2013 season, she and her loyal driver and trusted friend, Dennis Linden, for several seasons went to a couple of Lobo football and most basketball games in The Pit. Dennis says it was the best gig he ever had - paid to go to college games - and they had a deal: she did not make him wear his cap and he allowed her to sit in the front seat. There is a fund-raising brick in front of The Pit that commemorates "Dennis Driving Miss Ann" to those games. In the last 17 years she had weathered two broken hips and colon cancer. In 2006, after nearly 48 hours on the floor of her TV room after a fall, she grudgingly added a part-time home-healthcare worker, Mary Lindsey, to her daily routine. Despite her protestations, Ann often sent Mary home after an hour or two or told her not to come at all some days. Mary was dedicated to Mother's care and comfort for eight years and she and Dennis shared holiday meals and other gatherings as part of the family. Her children kidded her that she was the only 94-year-old with an entourage - better, Ann's posse - which included Robert Hall, who sculpted Ann's beautiful yard that gave her such pleasure in every season; "the Bens" - Ben Garcia, Sr. and Ben Garcia, Jr., who rebuilt her nearly 60-year-old house room by room over the past two years and, beyond their artistry, provided trusted companionship and loving support like family; John Teel, of Steve Shelly Landscapes, her orchid specialist; Steve Shelly, who trimmed the burgeoning plant forest in her favorite plant room every quarter; Rob Roach, who for years was her jack-of-all-requests-and-needs, including bringing his beloved Dachshunds for weekly visits; Tom Dvorak, who cared for her two large aquariums; and Debra, at Patty's Hair Salon on Lomas, who made Ann look beautiful every week for years. Her favorite haunt was Monroe's on Lomas -- owner Miguel, his son Matthew, manager Juan and chef Mario, plus Jason and his wait staff colleagues - provided fabulous New Mexican fare with family-like fellowship for her twice-weekly lunches of a breakfast skillet, chicken fajita quesadillas or blue-corn chicken enchiladas, with two glasses of Merlot, and often a game to watch. Monroe's was a second home, and with her when she passed was a small bottle of Merlot, a favorite stuffed dog and a novel for her journey home. Her entourage gave her independence and great comfort - part of the family's promise that she could stay in her house and enjoy her magnificent yard as long as possible -- as she outlived two generations of friends and neighbors. Until three months ago, Ann had a standing weekly hair appointment; went out often to get her nails done; did grocery shopping; was a regular at Monroe's, Outback or Paul's Monterrey Inn, often sharing lunchtime there with Coach Hulsman; and she always stopped at the dog park and Tingley Beach with Dennis the Driver to feed the ducks. She used a walker at home, but a vice-grip on her driver's arm to and from the car everywhere else - even though the walker would have made her field trips easier. And why? Because, she would explain curtly, walkers are for old people. Now, one of the family's favorite memories will be our last Albuquerque Zoo adventure in mid-March, for which she grudgingly surrendered to a wheel chair, with three generations along for the ride - Paul and Sara; Dennis; grandson David; and Cambri, the nine-year-old great-granddaughter, who pushed - no, raced - her all over the zoo on a beautiful New Mexico blue-sky afternoon. Her world and ours changed about then. Enter the tough, loving, wise Sue Garcia, Ben Sr.'s wife and a certified surgical technician in the OR at UNM Hospital, who got Ann an appointment with the fabulous Leading Ladies of UNMH's Oncology GYN. They took her in their expert and gentle hands and began to treat her immediately. Dr. Carolyn Muller explained that Ann had lived long enough to get not only a cancer, but a very rare one at that. Indeed, The Reading Lady, with a master's degree and enough extra hours for a doctorate, was always an overachiever. When the side effects of radiation were explained to her, she responded that, like the walker, those were for old folks and she would conquer the disease. She weathered 24 of 25 radiation treatments before succumbing to the side effects and age, spending 9 days in UNM Hospital and then 46 at Las Palomas, both facilities demonstrating around the clock the difference between competence and caring - the former you can pay for, the latter you can't. On Monday afternoon, June 16, just after a bath and her hair washed by a gentle Sol Amor Hospice nurse, and turned and tucked in by April Goolsby, the hardest-working certified nursing assistant on earth who took such loving care of Ann during her Las Palomas stay, and in the presence of her caregiver Mary, and children Paul and Sara, she slipped peacefully and silently away - on her schedule, her will to live finally trumped by a tired heart. Having lived a full and remarkable life as Mother and teacher, mentor and friend, a woman who touched so many lives over nearly a century, we can ask for nothing more. One of her favorite poems, Thanatopsis, says it best: that when her time came this week, unafraid and at peace, she wrapped the draperies of her couch about her and lay down to pleasant dreams. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, June 28, 2014, 1:00 p.m., at St. John's Cathedral, 318 Silver SW. The family requests memorials, in lieu of flowers, to Sol Amor Hospice, 7301 Indian School Rd. NE, Suite B, Albuquerque, N.M. 87110.