Dr. Robert Malcourt Watson, Jr.

Dr. Robert Malcourt Watson, Jr., age 89, died on November 26 at his home in Spartanburg, SC. Born in Columbia, SC, he was the son of Robert Malcourt Watson and Cecile Chewning Watson. Dr. Watson was predeceased by the love of his life, his wife of 60 years, Virginia “Ginger” Shaver Watson. He is survived by daughters, Wende (Riley) Sweat of Nashville, TN and Leigh Watson, MD of Greenville, SC; son, Ashley Watson of Leland, NC; and three grandchildren. He is also survived by two sisters, Alice (Art) Peters of Winston-Salem, NC and Celia Weston of New York, NY. Dr. Watson was a graduate of Spartanburg High School, Wofford College, and UNC School of Dentistry. After serving as a Dental Officer with the United States Air Force in England, he returned to Chapel Hill to earn a Master’s degree in Pediatric Dentistry and opened his dental practice in Spartanburg. He was a member of the Spartanburg County and Piedmont District Dental Societies, the South Carolina and American Dental Associations, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and was a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. Dr. Watson was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Advent, where he served on the Vestry. He was a long-time member of The Spartanburg Rotary Club, faithfully attending Tuesday meetings for decades. He was a veteran actor at the Spartanburg Little Theatre, playing his namesake “Dr. Watson” in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Dr. Watson was a lifelong gardener and a graduate of the South Carolina Master Gardener program. Bob was happiest working in his garden, where he shared the fruits of his labor. In 2011, he received the Good Neighbor of the Year Award from the Converse Heights Neighborhood Association for “uncounted hours and heroic efforts maintaining the entrances to Converse Heights.” Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, December 5 at 4:00 pm at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, 141 Advent Street, Spartanburg, followed by interment in the cloister columbarium. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Healthy Smiles of Spartanburg, PO Box 1441, Spartanburg, SC 29304. (Healthy Smiles provides free dental care to Spartanburg and Cherokee County children in low-income families.)