OBITUARY : Ray Watson; Councilman, Retired Deputy

A memorial service was held Wednesday for Walnut Councilman Ray Watson, a retired sheriff’s deputy who died June 18 of a heart attack. He was 58.

Mayor Tom Sykes, a close friend, described Watson as “the type of councilman that did not have a hidden agenda. He did not have higher political aspirations. He had a personal commitment to his community . . . and to American values.”

Watson was elected to the City Council in 1988 and, after a change in election scheduling, was reelected in 1991. One of his pet projects was to fly American flags throughout the city during the Gulf War.

Watson had been a deputy for 33 years when he retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 1989. He had also been a driving instructor at Rio Hondo College Police Academy.

He had worked with the Walnut Emergency Response Team, Neighborhood Watch, the Walnut Community Coordinating Council, Walnut Family Festival, the Walnut Pony Baseball League and the United Methodist Church.

Watson is survived by his wife, Nancy; two children; five stepchildren, and two grandchildren.

The Council was to discuss filling his seat Wednesday night.