Watkins, James Henry 1902-1983

WATKINS, BECK, DERR

Posted By: Viv Reeves, volunteer (email)
Date: 8/12/2008 at 20:42:49

From the LeMars Sentinel, LeMars, (Plymouth), Iowa, May 5, 1983, P-11, C-3:

James H. Watkins

James Henry Watkins, 80, former Kingsley mayor, died unexpectedly Tuesday (May 3, 1983) at his residence.

Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the United Methodist Church in Kingsley. Rev. H. Wallace Kinzler will officiate. Burial will be in the Kingsley Cemetery under the direction of the Michaelson Funeral Home of Kingsley.

Mr. Watkins was born Sept. 4, 1902, in Des Moines to Mac and Bertha Beck Watkins.

He married Elizabeth Derr May 5, 1928, at Storm Lake. They lived all their married life in Kingsley where he operated the family meat market until its closing. He then worked as a meat cutter for Joe Wagner and Roman Gallas in their stores. He served as mayor of Kingsley from 1961 to 1977.

Survivors are his wife; two daughters, Mrs. Lamern (Rosemary) Albers of Ida Grove and Mrs. Roger (Karen) Vogt of LaCrosse, Wis.; one half brother, Paul Franzenburg of Des Moines; four half sisters, Mrs. Max (Jean) Belz of Walker, Mrs. Jack (Wilhelmina) Kazenmeier of Austin, Tex., Mrs. Russell (Ruth) Koepke (Roepke??) of Plymouth, Mich., and Mrs. Rudy (Collyn) Schmidt of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., and seven grandchildren.

Memorials have been established in his name with the city of Kingsley or the Kingsley Library.