Ethel Watkins

Ethel G. Watkins, age 76, of Willmar, died Friday afternoon, September 8, at Rice Care Center in Willmar.
Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday, September 12, at First Baptist Church in Willmar. Burial will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at Fairview Cemetery in Willmar. Visitation will be Monday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar.. Memorials are preferred to Rice Hospice, First Baptist Church or the American Cancer Society.
Ethel Genevieve Watkins was born December 3, 1929, in Willmar, the daughter of C. Elmer and Ella (Swenson) Nelson. She attended Goldenrod School for two years until her family moved to a farm near Spicer in 1937. She attended Spicer schools through 8th grade. The family again moved to a farm east of Green Lake and Ethel attended Atwater High Schools, graduating as valedictorian in 1947. She attended Bethel College and Northwestern Bible School for one year each. On July 23, 1948, she married Harold Watkins in Willmar. They lived in south Minneapolis for 11 years and in Brooklyn Center for 31 years. Ethel worked as the principal's secretary at Park Center High in Brooklyn Park for 23 years. Following her retirement in 1990, Harold and Ethel moved to their lake home on Green Lake. In 2005, they moved to Willmar. They wintered in Edinburg, Texas for 12 years. Ethel was a member of the First Baptist Church in Willmar where she served in the library and as a greeter. Previously, she was a member of the Brooklyn Center Baptist Church for 31 years, where she served as Sunday School teacher, choir member and on many boards, committees and women's organizations. She enjoyed flower gardening, lake activities and handwork.
Ethel is survived by her husband, Harold of Willmar; two sons, Darrell (and Bonnie) Watkins of Maple Lake and Mark (and Karen) Watkins of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; a daughter, Penny Anderson of Andover; 8 grandchildren, Katie Watkins (and David Herfel), Kyle Watkins, Peter (and Erica) Anderson, Michael (and Sonja) Anderson, Krista Watkins, Emily Anderson, Brian Anderson and Justin Watkins; 2 great-grandchildren, Raegan Anderson and Nels Anderson; a brother, Willard (and Lorraine) Nelson of Apple Valley; a sister, Dorothy (and Ed) Nelson of Denver, Colorado; a sister-in-law, Patricia Nelson (and Randy Johnson) of Spicer and other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Ronald Nelson and a son-in-law, Thomas Anderson.