Gilbert Morey Watson

Gilbert Morey Watson (September 16, 1953- June 19, 2025) was born to Richard Morey Watson and Betty Jean Smith in Rochester, New York. He was raised in Kingsport, Tennessee. His travels brought him all over the world, and he called places such as Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Kentucky, and even Afghanistan (for a brief time) home. But the final eighteen years of his life were spent in Church Hill, Tennessee. Gilbert leaves behind his younger brother Rick Watson and his wife Melanie, his younger sister Nancy Watson Reese and her husband John, and his nieces and nephews, Kara Woody, Alan Watson, Branson Reese, Ben Reese, and Taylor Reese-Greenberg. Gil enjoyed all things outdoors and started in scouting at a young age with his father serving as scoutmaster of his troop and his brother Rick in the same scout troop. He became an Eagle Scout at the age of 15 and enjoyed traveling with the scouts to Philmont and to many jamborees. He attended Auburn University and ETSU and then joined the Air Force, serving for four years. He became a licensed pilot and graduated from the Air Traffic Academy in Oklahoma City. As an air traffic controller, he worked at Miami Center and Albuquerque Center, and he later taught at the FAA Academy. He retired from the FAA just shy of 25 years of service. His hobbies included reading, music, calligraphy, drawing, and all things Celtic. He learned to play the bagpipes and loved his Scottish heritage. He was a Freemason of the Blue Lodge and a member of Shriner's International and the Scottish Rite 32nd Degree. Gilbert was a true individual with a sharp mind and a limitless heart. A study in contradictions, Gil had a worldly wisdom that was always in conversation with a youthful sense of curiosity that never dimmed throughout his too-short life. Gil was a true child of the 60s, and an anti-authoritarian streak ran through everything he did, bolstered by a probing and second-to-none intellect. He was a lover of music, literature, and the arts, with a deep admiration for the classics and an undeniable passion for the avant-garde. No doubt due to the Scottish heritage he held so dear, Gilbert stood a grand 6’6” but to call him imposing would be to completely miss the gentle heart that was so familiar to all who knew him. Gilsonality that could be seen from space, Gil was the center of every room he entered and his unwavering sense of self and authenticity as well as his genuine fascination with the world around him allowed him to effortlessly make friends all over the world easily. His love for animals (in particular dogs) was legendary and led to him taking in countless dogs too numerous to list over the years, all of whom must be over the moon to see him again.