Funeral services for Chester Elizabeth Allen Watson will be held at 2:00 p.m. , Sunday, July 2 at Leland Presbyterian Church. She departed this life on June 30, 2017 in Greenville, Mississippi. Burial will follow in the Leland Stoneville Cemetery. All services are under the direction of Boone Funeral Home, Leland.
She was born on March 3rd, 1924 to LeRoy Barry Allen and Eugenia (“Genie”) Lucille Branton. She was raised in Leland, Mississippi, where she lived until she attended Belhaven University. On a July afternoon in 1942, she met the love of her life, William Lonnie Watson, Jr. (“Bill”). As the story goes, she and a close friend were at a church social event for Army Air Force Cadets stationed in Greenville. The two made a pact to talk to the next two cadets that walked in the door. She chose Bill and it wasn’t long before they were engaged and then married on December 12th, 1942 in Sebring, FL, where Bill was stationed at the time. They lived many happy years moving around the state before returning to Chester’s home, Leland, to raise two children, William Lonnie Watson III and Chester Watson Moore Legg (“Little Chester”).
“Big Chester” was a strong-willed, proud woman who loved her family and friends fiercely. She was a devoted wife and mother to her children, as well as a socialite in Leland circles, where she was involved in many clubs and organizations. She was a lifelong member of Leland Presbyterian Church, where she had an unofficially official seat next to the stained glass window dedicated to her mother and father, and she would let you know if you dare sat there in error. In her younger days, she was active in the Delta Debutante Society, and eventually served as its president. If Bill was the great love of Chester’s life, then her bridge game was a close second. She was passionate about the game, and she loved the company of those in her bridge clubs.
She is survived by a daughter-in-law, Catherine Watson Mayo (Bob) of Jackson, Mississippi. She was “Meme” to six grandchildren, Catherine Watson Wood of Mobile, Alabama, William Allen Watson (Kathryn) of Jackson, Mississippi, Barry Moore Schuster (Eric) of Greenville, Mississippi, Robert Branton Moore (Oliver) of Berlin, Germany, William Easterling Moore (Samantha) of Madison, Mississippi, and Cheslee Moore Ross (Jason) of Memphis, Tennessee (the youngest Chester) and nine great-grandchildren, Caroline Sullivan Watson, Elizabeth James Watson, Robert Allen Watson, William Christopher Wood, Jackson Carlisle Wood, William Eatherly Schuster, Benjamin Barry Schuster, Lonnie Watson Moore, and Emery Elizabeth Ross. She was predeceased by her parents, LeRoy and Genie Allen, her husband, William Lonnie Watson, Jr., her son, William Lonnie Watson III, and her daughter, Chester Watson Moore Legg.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Leland Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 148, Leland, MS 38756.