Leonard Watts was born on October 11, 1932, the only child
of Percy Watts and Margaret Sloan Watts, in Cincinnati, OH.
He was lovingly raised by his maternal grandmother, Carrie
Walton. Throughout his childhood, he was known to his
friends by the nickname ?PI,? the origin and meaning of
which remains unclear to this very day. At a time when high
school graduation was not so common, he completed his
high school education at Central High (now the site of Cincinnati
State Technical and Community College), in 1951.
On August 11, 1951, he was united in marriage to Mary
Elizabeth Freeman, to whom he remained married until her
death in April, 1998. Together they enjoyed traveling, bowling,
dancing, card playing, and spending time with their likeminded,
like-spirited friends.
Leonard was an avid sports fan, enjoying any and every type
of sporting event that was televised, and has laughingly been
referred to as the man for whom ESPN was invented. He
loved the Cincinnati Bengals, and was a strong supporter of
the WNBA, often sporting t-shirts of his favorite players.
He was an active soccer coach for his son, and rarely missed
any of the baseball, football, basketball, or soccer games
where his grandsons were participants.
A veteran of the United States Army, Leonard served during
the Korean Conflict, was stationed in Germany, and reached
the title of Corporal before being honorably discharged in
1954.
To know Leonard was truly to love him. He had an infectious
personality, and never met a stranger. From the beginning
of his working life as a cook at Frisch?s, through his
retirement from Marion Merrill Dow Corporation, he could
always be counted on as always being the same. It didn?t matter if he was in the presence of kings and queens or just
plain folks, he was always fun-loving, upbeat, and always,
always self-assured.
Leaving to celebrate his life and to cherish his memory are:
his children, daughter, Marsha Watts-Visher (Gary) and son,
Wynndel Watts (Michelle); grandsons, Courtney L. Ellington,
Christopher L. Ellington, A. Corbin Watts and Ian W.
Watts; sisters, Tamara Bryant (Herman) and Carol Hodge;
nephews, nieces, grandnieces, cousins, and too many friends
to mention, with the notable exception of his dear friend
and companion, Rose Dreher.