Charles W. Watson Jr. ’58

Charles W. "Chuck" Watson Jr. of Upper Gwynedd, Pa., died May 23, 1997. He succumbed to cancer after battling it for almost five years. Chuck prepared at Germantown Academy, and at Princeton joined Cloister Inn. He remained a loyal Princetonian to the end; one of the last excursions he made before illness confined him to his home was to attend our 35th reunion in 1993.

Chuck majored in electrical engineering and physics, and worked for 31 years at Leeds & Northrup in suburban Philadelphia. His research and development work in digital telemetering, cathode ray tube displays, and digital computer design resulted in numerous patents and earned him one of the highest scientific positions in the company. Later, Chuck was senior development specialist at Drexelbrook Engineering in Horsham, Pa.

Many of us knew him not as Chuck but as "Doc" Watson, a man with a fine baritone voice who sang in more than 250 performances with Philadelphia's Gilbert and Sullivan Players, and later with the West Chester Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He was also active in the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown, serving as an elder.

Chuck is survived by his wife, Rosemarie, and daughters Hilary, Beth, and Abigail. The class extends its sympathy and gratitude to his family. We should also note with awe and gratitude the enormous labor and devotion Rosemarie brought to the care of her husband during his prolonged last illness.

The Class of 1958