Obituary: Priscilla Helen Wheeler Watson
December 21, 1927 - October 31, 2021
Priscilla Helen Wheeler Watson. Courtesy photo.
Priscilla Helen Wheeler Watson, a resident of Copley Woodlands in Stowe, Vermont, and longtime bridge player at the Waterbury Area Senior Center, passed away on October 31, 2021, surrounded by family in love and peace.
Born on December 21, 1927, in Auburn, Massachusetts, Priscilla was a former Girl Scout and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, tracing her family roots back to 1620 as a descendent of a Mayflower family. She was predeceased by her father, William John Wheeler, her mother, Charlotte Young Wheeler, and siblings Robert Leroy Wheeler and Bethlyn Caswell Wheeler Wiggins.
“Pat” as she was known in her later years, retired from nursing in the mid 1980s as the Assistant Director of Women’s Health Services at William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Connecticut. In her retirement she loved to knit, play bridge, and engage in tennis and golf. She greatly loved her Waterbury bridge group and she also became computer savvy and enjoyed a terrific online contract bridge group. Pat even learned to downhill ski at Stowe Mountain.
Pat took great joy in her family. She leaves behind her son, Russell William Watson of Fort Pierce, Florida; two daughters, Anne Elizabeth Watson Bongiorno of Stowe, and Melissa Poole of Bradford, Rhode Island; five grandchildren, Christopher Bongiorno of Austin, Texas, Melody Bongiorno Frank of Waterbury Center, Vermont, Julianne Bongiorno Bythrow of Washington, D.C., Mark and Serena Gencarelli of Westerly, Rhode Island. “Great Grammy” also leaves a legacy of four beloved great-grandchildren: Rebecca and Sheldon Frank of Waterbury Center, and Caroline and Henry Bythrow of Washington, D.C.
Pat was a member of the First Congregational Church in Auburn, Massachusetts, and the Stowe Community Church in Stowe. She leaves behind many friends from her home at Copley Woodlands in Stowe.
A celebration of life is planned for November 20, at 11 a.m. at the Stowe Community Church in Stowe. There are no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, contributions would be welcome to Copley Hospital for new women’s health breast biopsy equipment; Lamoille Home Health and Hospice, or the Waterbury Area Senior Center.