Edwin "Ed" Watts

Edwin S. Watts, M.D. Edwin S. Watts, M.D., M.A., passed away on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, due to complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Watts, the seventh child of Walter F. and Myrtle Scully Watts, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 10, 1936, and was raised in the Austin area of that city. Graduating from Fenwick High School, Dr. Watts attended the University of Illinois and later became a journeyman plasterer with Plasterer’s Union Local 5. A chance meeting with President Harry S. Truman in a Chicago elevator changed the direction of Ed’s life. “Make sure you stay in school, son” advised the president. And, Ed did. In fact, among his accomplishments were his test results in preparation for medical school which set the national curve for the Association of American Medical Colleges’ MCAT exam. After receiving his degree from the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, he was drafted during his internship and served on the USS Ticonderoga as a flight surgeon during the Vietnam War. The highlight of his wartime experience was wrapping Joey Heatherton’s sprained ankle when she appeared on the Bob Hope Show Vietnam 1965 tour. After five years of service, he mustered out as a Navy Lieutenant Commander. He served his residency in psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Watts’ practice over the years included both private patients and developing in-patient psychiatric units. After residency, he practiced at St. Michael’s Mental Health Center, served as medical director of the Tri-City Mental Health Center in East Chicago, Indiana, and opened the psychiatric unit of Blanchard Valley Hospital in Findlay, Ohio. In 1971, when Ed married Nancy Blanchard Watts at the Unitarian Church in Middleton Wisconsin, he promised her that if nothing else, she would never be bored. But, in 1985, he felt the need for a new challenge and enrolled in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. His master’s thesis, Insanity in the Service of Health: The Uses of Psychiatric Phenomena in the Television Series M*A*S*H, was based on Dr. Sidney Theodore Freedman, the show’s psychiatrist, and combined the practice of psychiatry, Ed’s experiences in the Vietnam War, and media studies. His thirst for learning then took the Watts to Maryland where Ed enrolled in the Ph.D. American Studies Program at the University of Maryland while practicing at Taylor Manor, a private psychiatric hospital in Ellicott City, Maryland. Returning to their Midwest roots and Wisconsin in 1989, the Watts moved to Green Bay where Dr. Watts joined Psychiatric Associates. When Bellin Health Psychiatric Center was established, he was hired to develop the geriatric psychiatric program. In addition to private practice in Green Bay, Dr. Watts was on staff at St. Mary’s, St. Vincent’s, and Bellin Health Hospitals. It was in Green Bay that he could pursue his deep love of the arts and where he found the challenge of the stage. The Pamiro Opera Company called upon him to fill supernumerary roles in Carmen, The Lost Dauphin, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Il Trovatore where he appeared under the baton of Metropolitan Opera Director Emeritus Anton Coppola. The standard stage direction for Ed was, “Watts, just move your lips!” He appeared in Evergreen’s The Man Who Came to Dinner, as The Waiter in Community Theatre’s comedy Out of Order, and in Attic Theatre’s drama Witness for the Prosecution. St. Norbert College Music Theatre cast him in Me My Girl where he and his wife, Nancy, appeared as Lord Lady Battersby, The Music Man, Mame, Guys Dolls, and the King I. One of his favorite roles, however, was that of “harp schlepper” helping Nancy tote her harp to performances. In retirement, Ed found meaning in volunteering to read to children at Howe School and in working at the First United Methodist Food Pantry and in his love of learning. He regularly attended UW-Green Bay’s Learning in Retirement and led classes in the program. A poet, Ed enrolled in poetry classes at The Clearing in Ellison Bay to add to his skill with words. A man of all seasons - healer, scholar, actor, poet, and “harp schlepper”, dear friend, and one of the world’s funniest people, he brought so much joy and lived life so well, we can only be grateful for his presence and mourn his absence. He made us laugh, and that we shall miss. Dr. Watts is survived by his beloved wife, Nancy Blanchard Watts of Green Bay, his four children: Kathleen Palmer of Chicago; Edward and Jeanne Watts of Aurora, Colorado, and their children Amanda Watts and Jessica Dunne and grandchildren, Zoe Watts and Judy Dunne; Michael and Catherine Watts of Kilworth, County Cork, Ireland and their children, Saoirse, Shannon, and Killian; and John and Kathy Watts of Clarendon Hills, Illinois, and their children Casey and Hannah. He is further survived by his sister-in-law, Veronica Watts of Oak Brook, Illinois, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, William and Paivi Blanchard of Indianapolis, Indiana, and many beloved nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Walter F. Watts and Myrtle Scully Watts, his first wife, Eileen Joyce Watts, and six brothers and sisters: Wayne Watts, Rita Jeanne Maun, Walter Watts, Jr., M.D., Donita Morrison, Gayle Ranker, and James S. Watts, M.D. He was also preceded in death by Nancy’s parents, Porter Bevan Blanchard, M. D., and his wife, Jeannette Sowle Blanchard of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, his brothers-in-law Bert Blanchard and Robert Blanchard, and his nephew, Robert Blanchard, Jr. The family will receive visitors on Wednesday, October 11 from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Cotter Funeral Home. 860 N Webster Ave, De Pere. Services celebrating the rich life of Dr. Watts will be held at First United Methodist Church, 501 Howe St., Green Bay on Thursday October 12 at 11:00 a.m. A visitation prior to services will begin at 10:00 a.m. Online condolences can be expressed at www.cotterfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Dr. Watt’s name to his two well-loved organizations, the First United Methodist Church Pantry where he donated time or the University of Wisconsin Department of Theatre, 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, Wisconsin, whose students he valued and encouraged to pursue their talents and their dreams. Nancy would like to thank the entire staff of Angel’s Touch Assisted Living for their loving and dignified care of Ed during his fourteen months there.

Reception:
Village Grille
801 Hoffmann Road
Green Bay, WI 54301