Words of Truth

When my father died in 2003, I found a picture of his childhood home in Elliott with the following written in his hand on the back: “I lived here with my mother, grandfather, and sister at the time I proposed marriage to Betty. It is where my mother told Betty’s parents that “Alfred is a good boy.”

I later learned that my mother’s parents had a number of reservations regarding their daughter’s intended (due largely to his Alfred’s youth and limited financial resources, but they were eventually overcome, and my parents were married in PIttsburgh on September 9, 1938 .

Over the next 65 years, Alfred Watson’s loyalty and sense of responsibility were exhibited in his marriage and in every aspect of his life, including the care of his children, treatment of others, and strong work ethic. Indeed, He remained at the same job for over 40 years until his retirement in 1981.

His firm belief in the values of hard work, perseverance, and honesty were passed on to his children and have remained with me to this day. My father was strict, but he was fair. I will always miss him.

My grandmother couldn’t have known it at the time, but her simple statement regarding her son’s character would become an accurate prediction for the way he lived his life:

Alfred Watson was a good boy who grew up to become a good man.