Frank Graham Watson ’39

Frank died peacefully Dec. 12, 2009, of congestive heart failure.  

A member of Campus Club, he majored in chemistry. Upon graduation, he began graduate studies in zoology at UC, Berkeley, but that ended after a year when his sister’s best friend, Jean Frances Dicks, caught his eye. They married in 1941 and had four children. The marriage ended in divorce.

Frank was employed with Shell Chemical Co. for 28 years, rising to manager of the plastics and resins division. In the mid-1960s he spent 18 months in Italy helping Shell establish a chemical business. He retired from Shell in 1970 and moved to Denver, where shortly afterward he met Jean Betzner. They married in 1973. Together they owned and operated a wholesale coffee business for 33 years.

Frank was fiercely proud of his Princeton connection. He and Jean’s association with the Rocky Mountain Princeton Club spanned decades. His last social event was attending the Aspire Reception at the Denver Art Museum in March, at which he had a brief conversation with President Tilghman.

Frank is survived by Jean; three of his four children; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and his sister, Dorothy Viken. His Princeton relatives include his brother Harold ’44 (deceased) and nephew Richard B. ’74. To them all, we offer sincere sympathy.