On
Thursday, May 15, 2025, Charles “Skip” Watts, 99 years old,
left this world for a new and unknown adventure.
Born
in Paterson, N.J., on May 4, 1926, Skip grew up near the ocean in
Cranston, R.I., with his older sister, Harriet. He loved sailing and
racing his Beetle Cat, Pinto, and S boats from the Edgewood
Yacht Club. Skip’s love of skiing started in the early 1940s, when
he often took the ski train to North Conway, N.H.
At
the age of 17, Skip enlisted in the Army, where he trained to become
part of the 101st Airborne “Screaming Eagles” Division. He
spent almost two years on the European front parachuting into action,
getting into mischief and bravely serving his country during World
War II.
Returning
from the war, Skip finished high school; married his sailing
sweetheart, Beverly Ferguson from Fall River, Mass.; and started a
family, all while studying physics at the University of Rhode Island
and living in a Quonset hut on campus.
Skip’s
professional career started with the Navy working on a Volpe machine
in New London, Conn.; it also included two years at DuPont and 15
years at General Electric, which involved many special projects. He
often told stories of “vacuum systems,” working with
chemicals, and developing synthetic fibers and transistors. These
special projects with GE relocated the family to many interesting
places throughout New England and New York.
Skip
was instrumental in starting and supervising the ambulance squad in
Lake George, N.Y., and directing the ski patrol at North Creek Ski
Area. While living in Pittsfield, Mass., he became a regional Red
Cross Water Safety official and was on the ski patrol at Bousquet
Mountain. After moving to Rochester, N.H., Skip switched from the ski
patrol to the ski school under Harry Baxter at Mount Whittier in
Ossipee, N.H.
Many
martinis and “snow dances” later, Skip answered a very
small ad in Skiing magazine for IBM in Essex Junction, Vt.
With Beverly and his family of five, Sally, Judy, Bonny, Betsy and
Tommy, in tow, Skip ended up in Jeffersonville, Vt., buying the
infamous Vagabond Ski Dorm and converting it to a home. Now, we all
had our own bedroom with a number on the door!
For
25 years, Skip worked tirelessly supervising the computer chip
manufacturing machines for IBM and became an advisory engineer who
approved the purchase of these multimillion-dollar machines. Somehow,
he found time to play tennis and golf and take boating trips on Lake
Champlain, up the Richelieu and St. Lawrence rivers and down the
Hudson River to New York City. He was a ski instructor for more than
30 years at Smugglers’ Notch Resort, starting in 1968 when it was
called Madonna Mountain. Skip’s love of skiing was passed on to the
entire Watts family, who have stayed involved in the skiing world for
many generations.
As
well as being an active father and husband to Beverly for 67 years,
Skip was well known for entertaining people with jokes, singing, a
comic routine or general tomfoolery. He loved to debate the pros and
cons of any topic or to explain how to build a watch after someone
asked him the time.
After
he retired from IBM, Skip and Bev moved to Spring Hill, Fla., and
later settled in New Bern, N.C. Skip returned to Vermont in 2019,
residing at Mansfield Place in Essex, Vt.
Our
Dad, Skip, is now watching over his family with Beverly, who
predeceased him in 2015. He left a legacy of working hard and
enjoying life to Sally Watts, her husband, Randy Draper, and
daughter, Whitley; Judy McCawley, her late husband, David “Squatch,”
and son, Matthew Petrick McCawley, his wife, Kate, and their twins,
Micah and Cassidy, daughter Elizabeth and her fiancé, Saul Benitez;
Bonny Mutty, her husband, Peter, and daughters, Sarah and Kali; Betsy
Abare and her husband, Paul; and, last but very much not the least of
Skip’s crew, Thomas Ferguson Watts. We love you, Dad.
Thank
you to all who cared for our father with grace, kindness and dignity
during his last weeks.
In
lieu of flowers, please tell a joke, go for a sail, help someone
learn to ski with a qualified ski instructor or make a donation to
skiinghistory.org.
To
leave condolences and memories, please visit awrfh.com.
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2025.