Anne Watkins

Funeral services for Anna F. Watkins are scheduled for 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at Zion Lutheran Church, with Pastor Pat Lehrer officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. Tuesday evening at Memorial Oaks Chapel. Mrs. Watkins, the widow of Walter Watkins, passed away March 6, 2016 in Brenham, at the age of 94.

Anna F. Watkins was born October 21, 1921 in Emblem, Wyoming to her parents Mary and Martin Fiene. She spent her early years in Emblem and Greybull, Wyoming where she graduated from high school in 1940. After high school Anna moved to southern California where she took a job in an aircraft factory and eventually met and married her husband, Walter Watkins in 1942. Her husband served in both WWII and the Korean Conflict and following this service they resided in Los Angeles where Anna worked to support Walter attending electronics school. After graduation from the electronics technical school Anna and Walter moved to Wyoming and eventually to Littleton, Colorado where they lived where Walter was employed by the Martin Marietta Company. After retirement they would spend the summers in Colorado and the winters in their motorhome at their nephew''s ranch outside Brenham. One winter, they decided that it was time to abandon Colorado and move to the ranch in Texas.

Anna''s nephew, Harold, still recalls the conversation when Anna asked if it would be ok if they built a log house somewhere on the ranch and moved to Texas permanently. Of course, it was ok and great idea. Harold recalls—"We drove around the ranch in a golf cart trying to find a spot that would be suitable. There were a number of potential places, but Anna was sold on the location by the front gate with a view of the clear lake out the front of the house." Walter and Harold prepared the location for the log house, had it erected, and then finished it inside. It was a labor of love for Walter and when it was finished it was the pride of his lifetime. Anna loved the location with a great view of the clear lake and the multitude of bird feeders and the roses that they grew. Anna loved hummingbirds and always had a crowd of the beautiful birds hovering around the front porch.

Summers continued to offer relief from the hot Texas weather with trips to Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana to visit family for a number of years. Anna and Walter continued to live at the ranch until health issues made it impossible in recent years.

Anna was a wonderful person who only had good things to say about others. She was always happy to have company and loved family to come to their house for dinner or just to visit—the door was always open and the welcome mat out. Chicken lasagna, pizza, and reuben sandwiches were her specialty, along with pancakes and peanut butter cookies. Anna and Walter loved their nieces and nephews as if they were their own children. The nieces and nephews each have great memories and stories of the times they would stay with their Aunt and Uncle, and be seriously spoiled!

After 73 years of marriage, Anna''s husband, Walter passed in October of this past year. Anna had a sister, Alice Korell and a brother Eddie Fiene who are no longer with us. Anna was a beautiful person who God blessed us to have in our lives. She will be greatly missed and with her husband, Walter, mark the passing of America''s Greatest Generation.

Funeral arrangements for Anna F. Watkins are entrusted to Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 West Main, Brenham. To post a tribute to the family, visit www.memorialoakschapel.com.