Remembering Rick Watson

Rick and his wife, Jilda at his book table

I was deeply saddened to learn yesterday of Rick Watson's passing. I met Rick many summers back at the Alabama Writers Cooperative. Since we were both bloggers, and he hailed from Dora, Alabama, near my wife's hometown, we became friends and blogger colleagues. 

He had worked for years at Bell South but began his writing career as a  young man after a two-year stint with the Army. He wrote in one of his columns about how his friend Dale Short hired him as a journalist and photographer for The Community News in Sumiton, Ala. In 2007, Rick began writing columns for the Daily Mountain Eagle where he had a weekly column (you can read the paper's tribute to him here). He interviewed many local people and as such served as a compiler of the community's own local history. 

In his columns and in his books, Rick shared many homespun stories of life as he observed it. He loved fly fishing and offered to teach me the art. He told me he had some extra waders and I could join him anytime on the river.

Rick was also a musician and songwriter. He and his wife Jilda performed together at many local gatherings. He loved people, he loved life, he loved to be out in nature. Not only did he welcome you into his world, but he also had an extra pair of waders so you didn’t have to stand on the sidelines. That's just how he was.

Rick blogged at Life 101 where he made an entry every day, his last one just a few hours before he died. Prayers for his wife, Jilda. May he rest in peace. 

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Rick was an excellent photographer with an eye for nature. Here are two of his photos he posted on his blog just last week:

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