GAINESVILLE - A 98-year-old woman who was a fixture at Gainesville Kiwanis Club meetings long before the club admitted its first female member will be buried Monday.
Daisy Elizabeth Watson, better known as "Miss Daisy," died Friday.
A retired educator, Miss Daisy played piano - until she was well into her 90s - at many local nursing homes and for weekly meetings of the Kiwanis Club and the Sunshine Class at the First United Methodist Church. In fact, members of the Kiwanis Club are among those who've been asked to serve as honorary pall bearers at her funeral Monday afternoon at 4:00 at First United Methodist Church.
In October 2005, Kiwanis Club members celebrated Miss Daisy's 95th birthday with her at one of their weekly meetings.
A number of family members were present as club members treated her to a birthday cake, showered her with gifts and serenaded her with "Happy Birthday." The club president at the time, Joel Williams, reviewed her life history as part of the celebration.
Seated at the head table, she showed her quick wit by bantering with Williams and the audience at times.
But at one point, fighting back tears and apparently overwhelmed by the attention, she noted, "y'all are going to make me cry."
A lifelong athlete, she stayed active well into her 90S, playing basketball and tennis when she was young, and was taking daily mile walks even at the age of 94.
She was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Gainesville, the Gainesville Garden Club,a Study Club and served as a Girl Scout leader. In 1994, in recognition of her works, she was named A Gracious Lady of Georgia and also in 2001 she was presented the Distinguished Citizen Award by the City of Gainesville.
During high school she played on a championship basketball team and also enjoyed tennis.
(A complete obituary can be found on the Obituaries Page of this Web site.)
Thursday
October 10th, 2024
2:26AM
