Jess Allen Watkins, 89, of Fitzgerald, died Sunday, September 22, 2013, at Heritage Healthcare at Osceola in Ocilla.
Graveside services will be held 11 AM, Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at Evergreen Cemetery in Fitzgerald with Deacon Ed Drexler officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at Paulk Funeral Home.
Mr. Watkins was born November 30, 1923, in Litchfield, Illinois, to the late Charles Augustus and Etta Mae Myers Watkins. He served his country in the United States Army Air Force as a Master Sergeant. He was Sergeant Major for Headquarters – 417th Bomb Group, 5th Air Force. He served overseas during World War II from New Guinea to Tokyo. He was a former retail department store manager and also a former co-owner of a meat market in Jacksonville, Florida. Mr. Watkins was a member of St. Williams Catholic Church.
He is survived by two nephews: Charles D. & Diane Watkins and David Watkins; five nieces: Rebecca and Kenneth West, Julia C. Imm, Ramona Hansbrough, Melanie Smith and Lydia Cook. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his long time friend: Billy Cox and three brothers: Charles Augustus Watkins, Jr., David Myers Watkins and George Maynard Watkins.