 WATSON,FARRELL LANE age 82, passed away peacefully on June 10, 2013, in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Farrell was born at the old St. Mary's Hospital in Roswell on November 24, 1930. His parents, Albert and Clara Watson, operated a dairy at the East Grand Plains, which Albert later converted to a cattle feed lot. Life on the farm was hard work, but he remembered sledding behind a pickup truck on icy dirt roads, stealing away on his brother's motor scooter into town, and taking milk to German POWs who toiled on their farm during World War II. His senior trip from Roswell High School was a tour of France, Switzerland, Austria, Holland and England, and the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. After graduating in 1949, he attended ENMU for a year, and married JoAnn Buck in 1950. Farrell then attended NMSU for another year before managing his father's high-country cattle ranch near Fort Stanton, where he and JoAnn enjoyed ranching and riding horses. After his father sold the ranch in 1958, Farrell first worked for the Roswell Case tractor dealership, then for General Dynamics on an Atlas missile site outside Walker AFB. He returned to ENMU at Portales in 1963, and made his way through college as a dorm parent while joining Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity. Farrell received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Accounting, in 1967, so he went back to Roswell as the accountant for his father's feed lot until it closed in 1980. He married Kitty Woody in 1969, and the two enjoyed playing bridge with friends and traveling to such exotic locations as Morocco until she passed away in 1998. Shortly after his election as a city councilor in 1980, Farrell resigned the post to become Assistant City Clerk, then moved to the Purchasing Department, where he later became the Director of Purchasing. Farrell so enjoyed gardening and raising animal stock that when he retired from the city in 1999, he pursued his farming vision at a property the family lovingly called "The South Ten." And with his friend Lea Rohr-Fraser, he enjoyed weaving, traveling, and painting. After suffering from health problems, he moved to the Albuquerque area in 2011 to be closer to family. Farrell is survived by his children, Steve (and Brooke) of Albuquerque; Julie (and Holly) of Corrales; and Michael (and Monica; and granddaughters Alyssa and Michaela of Oxnard, California; stepchildren Pam (and Bill) Bonahoom; and Ken (and Vicki) Woody; all of Albuquerque; brother Donald (and Marilyn) of New Zealand; sister Barbara (and Bill) Gibson of Houston, Texas; aunt Dusty Reid of Arizona; numerous cousins of the Watson and Middleton clans, especially Janice Southard Burk and Martha Jo Corn. The family is grateful to many people: in Houston, the staff of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; in Roswell, Tom Dunlap, Roger Willmon, Dr. Evan Nelson, the staff at ENMMC, Drs. Dany El-Sayah and Edgard Badine and the staff at Kymera Cancer Center, and the staff at Villa del Rey Retirement Inn and Assisted Living; in Albuquerque, Drs. Michael Magee and Richard Giudice, Willow Durand CNP, Ralph Zych, P.A.-C., and Dr. Samuel Goldman; and finally, Jennifer Riggs, Lou Ella Scott, RN, and the staff at Sandia Springs Emeritus Senior Living Retirement Community in Rio Rancho, Hospice Compassus, and Riverside Funeral Home. Farrell liked to tease and joke; was very generous (sometimes to a fault); and had much compassion for animals, especially his horses and the stray cats who found their way to the South Ten. According to his wishes, cremation has taken place and no funeral or memorial service will occur. You may donate "in memory of Farrell Watson" to Heifer International, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 72202 or www.heifer.org or the rescue operation C.A.T.s, c/o Mary McGee, P.O. Box 3216, Roswell, NM 88202. You may leave a remembrance at www.riversidefunerals.com or contact the Watson Family at P.O. Box 40410, Albuquerque NM, 87196.
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