Woody Orion Watson

Woody was born in a tiny miners cabin, 3 miles up KnowNothing Creek, located in the township of Forks of Salmon, to Wally and Edna Watson. Woody grew up on the Rivers, first on KnowNothing Creek and the Salmon River at the Forks, with a group of Salmon River boys, led by his brother, Rick Glascoe, and Rick’s good friend Tim Murray and his little brother who was Woody’s lifetime friend, Will Harling, and lifetime friend Toz Soto, who also lived on KnowNothing Creek. Other Salmon river boys he played with were little Sam George and also Orion Marley. A few years later they would all be joined by Slate Boykin . They all swam and played and fished in the creeks and the Salmon River. When he was 3 and ½ years old , in 1979,the family moved to McKinleyville so that Edna could complete her teaching credential at Humboldt State Univ. Woody attended HSU ‘s preschool and would later graduate from HSU in the late 90’s with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology (building trades). While living in McKinleyville he attended Mckinleyville Middle School which had a wonderful Kindergarten class with the very musical Sandy Hatch as his teacher. The next year he attended Equinox school in Arcata, where his mother washed the lunch dishes every day in exchange for his tuition, and Woody became a very strong student academically. He met a lifelong friend, Forest Berg. In 1982, Woody’s father Wally was a fishing guide for the Somes Bar Guide Service, owned and operated by the Throgmorton Brothers. During that year Woody’s mom graduated and began her teaching career at Junction School in Somes Bar, and Woody started school there in 2nd grade, with Steve Robinson as his first teacher there. This opened the door to an incredible life , living in the Klamath River watershed, where Woody and his father Wally, his uncle Tim, and Woody’s brother Rick , and Woody’s friends, all became one with the creeks, the 2 incredible Rivers ,the Salmon and the Klamath, and the surrounding mountains. They grew up fishing, hunting, gold panning, backpacking in the wilderness, lots of swimming, and learning to navigate the Rivers. Woody grew up with the gang from Patterson Ranch, Robinsons, Robisons and Lieby, Brickell and Post kids, Slate Boykin, and Toz Soto and his little brother Orbie Pulllen,, and many local Karuk kids (Supers, Whites and Conrads), where he learned some of the old ways, lots of new ways, and customs. He and his brother felt themselves to be part of a larger community and tribe and they have remained very connected to the Indian community. Woody and Rick became excellent river guides before they completed high school, taking both rafting and fishing customers and friends and family on either fishing or Rafting Trips . Woody especially loved taking his kids on the River. When he was in high school in Happy Camp, Woody met the love of his life, Alicia Whitman, and they became high school sweethearts. After high school, they both received higher education, she at Shasta Beauty College in Redding and Woody at HSU in Arcata. They went on to start a family together and their first child, Timothy John Watson , was born in 2003. In the same year, Woody’s paternal grandfather died, Jerry Watson, who owned a house in Sebastapol. Woody was offered a good job with a building contractor in Sebastapol , so the young family moved to Jerry Watson’s house and Woody began his career as a builder. While there , their son Virusur ,was born in 2004, and even though they had a beautiful house and Woody had a good job, both Woody and Alicia longed for the River, and missed their family and friends terribly, especially Alicia, because her mother, Sharon Whitman, had started battling ovarian cancer. They returned to the River in 2006 . This began the “roller coaster” phase of their lives, with a mixture of ups and downs, good and bad. Alicia opened her own beauty shop, and Woody was living the dream as a river guide and carpenter. Their daughter Patty was born in July of 2011. However, other forces were at play that threw the family seriously off track , and the family fell apart for a number of years. But no matter what happened, Woody always charmed people with his smile, and his humor. Woody was always Mr. Social. More recently, the kids are living with Alicia in a wonderful 5 bedroom tribal house in Happy Camp, and Woody was visiting regularly and everything seemed to be improving. Woody’s unexpected death , along with Covid-19, has thrown things off track for now. Hopefully things will get better soon. Woody was predeceased by both sets of grandparents, and his Uncle, Tim Mark Watson, and his Aunt Katharine. His paternal grandparents were Jerry Albert Watson and Patricia Murphy Watson, both from San Francisco. His maternal grandparents were Edward Paul Scherzer and Eleanor Hansford Snodgrass Scherzer, both from Washington D. C. His Uncle Tim was Wally’s younger brother, who died in ’83 when his truck went off the KnowNothing Creek Road. Aunt Katharine was Edna’s sister, who died about 5 years ago in Petaluma. Woody is survived by both of his parents, Wally and Edna Watson, his brother, Rick Glascoe and his children, and Woody’s children , sons Timothy John Watson (16) and Virusur Orion Watson(15) , daughter Patricia Ann Watson (8) and stepdaughter Layla Aubrey Whitman (6), along with his children’s mother, Alicia Ann Whitman. He is also survived by nieces Angelica Garrison, Brandy Linder, and Eva May Glascoe and nephew Buck Wayne Glascoe, and grandnephews Dylan Martin and Hudson Hokanson. He also has 5 aunties on the east coast, Edna’s sisters :Terri, Brenda, Genie, Jackie and Jill, and all of their children who are his cousins, one of whom he knew because that one lived at Woody’s house for 1 year, Dennis Scherzer, Aunt Kathy’s son. He is also survived by Wayne Glascoe , a dear uncle , and his family, wife Patricia and grandson Parrish Buckley, as well as close friends Zak Lieby, Reid Patterson, Amber Arand Nancy Wojcik. Woody died at his home in Somes Bar, during sleep, in the wee hours of Sunday May 3rd, 2020, apparently from complications of an intestinal obstruction for which he went to Mad River Hospital in Arcata on Tuesday, April 28, but was sent home without enough help to resolve his stomach problem. His autopsy, completed on May 6, revealed that he died from severe gastro-intestinal bleeding. Due to restrictions on social gatherings due to the Coronavirus, a memorial gathering will be scheduled at a later date, when people can get together a little more freely. Woody will always be remembered for his smile and his friendly nature. As a man of the Rivers and Mountains, he was an expert River guide and boatman, who loved fishing, and hunting and hiking the wilderness areas, and loved having adventures with his children, like kayaking Clear Creek with his boys and his friend Zak Lieby, or overnight raft trips with his family. But most of all , he will be remembered for his deep love of his children, which was the driving force of his life. He lived for them.

Woody Orion Watson

November 25, 1975 - May 3, 2020