Jeanette Lovell Watson was born on Dec. 31, 1931, in the Belgian Congo, Africa, to Rev. Eugene and Mildred Lovell who were missionaries. Since both parents worked with the mission, she was assigned a caretaker who spoke the language of the people and she learned Kingwana as her first language. Due to the shortage of funds for missions, they returned to America for a few years and then returned to the Congo.

At age nine she went to Central School for Missionary Children which was some distance from her parents. Her sister Anne, and her brother Gene Jr., followed her to C.S. and she served as a mother for them until she finished high school at age seventeen. The entire family came to America her first year at Martin College. The family lived in Nashville, and at the end of the year took her to Tennessee Tech to finish her education while they returned to Africa. She went to Peabody for the first graduate degree in Library Science and later finished a second degree in the same field. She enjoyed elementary education, especially teaching reading.

She started work at Pensacola High School where she met and married Richard Watson who was planning to attend seminary. After seminary three children were born, Suzanne, Patricia, and Alexis, plus nine grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren. She supported her husband's ministry for sixty seven years, including 25 years of seminary education in Ukraine until the war with Russia began.

Jeanette died May 2, 2022. The funeral service will be at Wilson Funeral Home at 10:00 a.m. on May 9, 2022. A visitation will be held at the home of Richard Watson, 7215 Resota Lane, Panama City, 32409, May 8, 2022, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. In place of flowers, gifts may be given to First Presbyterian Church building fund of Panama City, Ridge Haven Camp, Conference, and Retreat Center, or the ministry of your choice.