Funeral Services for John C. Watson, age 95, of O'Neill will be 10:30 am Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at the First United Methodist Church in O'Neill with burial in the O'Neill Cemetery including Military Rites by the O'Neill American Legion Simonson Post #93.  Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at Biglin's Mortuary in O'Neill.  John passed away on Friday, November 25, 2016 at the O'Neill Care and Rehabilitation Center in O'Neill.

In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer memorials made to the O'Neill First United Methodist Church or the Holt County Economic Development Agency.

John Chenoweth Watson was born on July 10, 1921 in Inman, Nebraska to Ira and Ruth (Chenoweth) Watson. John married Betty Preston on June 14, 1945 in Wells, Minnesota.  The couple had four children: Ruth, Nancy, John Robert, and Richard.  Betty died in 1985. In 1987, John married Glenice Johnson in Kansas City, who brought her four children into the family: Mike, Mark, Vanessa, and Lana.

John graduated from Inman High School in 1939. After one semester at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, he returned to O'Neill to start his career in banking with the First National Bank of O'Neill. John started as a Cashier; through perseverance and hard work, he was named Bank President in 1962. He retired as President in 1984, remaining on the board until receiving a 50 year banking award in 1991. From 1991 until his passing, John maintained an office at the bank.

For many years, after retirement, John and Glenice traveled to Arizona every winter.  John loved to garden and take care of his yard.  He liked to fish, golf, and loved to dance.  He was an avid reader, especially of the Omaha World Herald and the Wall Street Journal. Always a devoted Husker fan, he told of the days he paid twenty-five cents to stand in the knot hole section.

John served in the 84 ^th Infantry Division of the US Army during WWII. He first saw action in the European Theater, including fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. A few years after his discharge from service in WWII, he was called back into active duty for a brief stint during the Korean War.

John was a member of and served in several leadership positions in many local organizations: First United Methodist Church, American Legion Simonson Post #93 (received a Certificate of Continuous Membership for 70 years in April 2016), Country Club, Gratton Township Library, Chamber of Commerce, Park Board, and the NE Community College.

John is survived by his wife, Glenice Watson of O'Neill; three children: Ruth Hansen of Laguna Beach, CA, Nancy Watson and partner, Gary White, of Dahlonega, GA, Richard Watson and his wife, Pamela Yates-Watson, of St. Paul, MN; four step children; Mike Johnson and his wife, Marilyn, of Lyons, NE, Mark Johnson and his wife, Vicky, of Atkinson, NE, Vanessa Johnson of Omaha, NE, Lana Petersen and her husband, Rich, of Lyons, NE, 17 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, one brother, Sam Watson of Omaha, two sisters; Patty Opper of Arlington, VA, Carolyn Langley of Des Moines, IA and many nieces and nephews.

John was preceded in death by his parents, his son, John Robert Watson, and one sister, Ruth Slusher.