Floyd H. Watson

Floyd Henry Watson was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, on August 29, 1927, the son of William and Victoria Watson. He grew up mostly in Oregon’s Linn and Marion counties, especially on his family’s farms near Marion, Oregon. In 1945 he enrolled at Pacific College, now George Fox University, graduating in 1949 after a year of service in the U.S. Army. On July 15, 1949, Floyd was united in marriage to Arline Frazier, with whom he spent the next (almost) 70 years. After his college graduation, Floyd found employment as a teller at the Newberg branch of the First National Bank of Portland (now part of Wells Fargo). He would work for various branches of “the bank” from 1949 until his retirement as a Vice President in 1989. The Watsons lived always in Oregon, first in Newberg, then north Portland, Tigard, and Eugene, before returning to Newberg from 1993 to the present. Floyd and Arline were very active members and faithful attenders of Friends (Quaker) Churches for all of their adult lives. Floyd usually was the Treasurer of his church, and was also actively involved in church building projects. He believed strongly in the living Savior, Jesus Christ, and in following the teaching of the Bible to the best of his understanding and with God’s gracious help. Floyd had an outstanding history of voluntary service to Christian institutions. In addition to his local church involvement, he served the regional body, the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends churches as Clerk of the Trustees, and also led the Friends Church Extension Foundation, which arranged financing for church property acquisition and building projects through the Pacific northwest. Beginning in 1966, he was a Trustee of George Fox University, often chairing the Finance Committee, until 1995, when he was named Honorary Lifetime Trustee. Back in the 1950’s, when still in his twenties, Floyd was on the founding Board of Friendsview Retirement Community, where he spent the last years of his life diligently serving once again, on the Friendsview Residents Council. Another area service, during the retirement years, was with Volunteers on Wheels (VOW), a group of RVers who traveled around the region doing work projects at Friends Churches. Floyd was an outdoors enthusiast, traveling and camping as often as his work allowed until retirement, when he and Arline bought a travel trailer and spent 3 years crisscrossing the continent, and then RVed many winters in Arizona and southern California. He enjoyed fishing and hunting, but more than those, his favorite activity was being outdoors with his growing family. He grew more and more tenderly devoted to serving his beloved Arline right to the end. Floyd graduated from this life on May 27, 2019, aged 91 years. He was preceded in death by his parents, Will and Victoria Watson, a brother, Donald, and a beloved grandson, Jeremi. He is survived by his wife Arline, his brother Ron (Marlene), his daughter Lorraine, his son Ken (Kathy), his son Roger (Sue), his son Doug (Melonie), six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Memorial gifts may be given to either Tigard Community Friends Church Benevolent Fund https://tigardfriends.com or Daytime Enrichment Activities & Recreation (DEAR) Community Outings Van Fund http://deardayprogram.com. Private interment will be in the Newberg Friends Cemetery.

Floyd H. Watson

August 29, 1927 - May 27, 2019