Noel Eldon Watson

Noel Eldon Watson, 93, of Grandview, Texas, went home to be with his Lord and his loving wife, Faye, Friday, September 24, 2021.   Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Thursday, September 30, 2021, at First Baptist Church Grandview with Rev. Corey Cornutt officiating.  Interment will follow at Grandview Cemetery.  Visitation will be held from 2 to 5 pm, Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at Marshall and Marshall Funeral Directors, Hillsboro, Texas.

Noel was born on a very hot night July 29, 1928, on a farm near Josephine, Texas.  The first son of seven children, born to Noel Nathan and Lou Emma (Russell) Watson. Noel moved to Hill County as a young boy.  He attended school in Whitney, Itasca and completed high school in Hillsboro, Texas.

After high school, Noel worked many jobs.  It was during this time that he met the love of his life, Lela Faye Peacock, who worked at Brown Drug.  They were untied in marriage on November 12, 1948 and shared sixty-six years together until her death.   Noel served in the Army National Guard from March 1949 to May 1950.  After leaving the Guard, he was drafted into the Air Force for the Korean War for four years.  Faye followed him from base to base all over the country, except during the time he was in Japan with the 16th Command Squad.  After his discharge in 1955, they moved to Fort Worth where they bought their first home on Hammond Street.  Noel went to work for the Army Quartermaster Depot, where he worked for seventeen years.  They welcomed their daughter, Deborah in 1959 and became members of the Gambrel Baptist Church.  Noel joined the Hemphill Height Masonic Lodge #1164, where he served as worshipful master from 1984 to 1985.  He was also a member of the Scottish Rite lodge, Shrines Temple Lodge, and the Eastern Star Chapter 681, where he served two terms as Worthy Patron with his loving wife by his side.  The couple then moved to Carswell Air Force Base to the 7th Civil Engineering Squad in the engineering field.  Noel retired from the U.S. Government after thirty-seven years of service.  His dream was to travel the United States in a motor home, but their plans were changed.  They bought seventy acres of land and called it Shady Meadow Ranch.  He and Faye spent the rest of their life as ranchers.  Noel loved walking with Faye and his dog on the land in the late evening, which he said was like a stroll in heaven with his best friend, who he called Baby Doll.  His life was filled with good memories.  Noel never met a stranger.

In addition to his wife, Noel was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Callie Whites and Lou Emma Dennis.  He is survived by his daughter, Deborah Watson; brothers, Jim Watson, Bob Watson and his wife Lanita, David Watson and his wife Valerie; sister, Daisy Reinert; and granddaughter, Miranda Sessums and her husband Christopher.

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