Carol A. Watson; Screenwriter, Times Reporter

Screenwriter Carol Allison Watson, a former reporter for the Ventura County Edition of The Times, died Monday at her mother’s Sacramento home of cancer. She was 33.

Watson came to the Los Angeles Times from the Times Tribune in Palo Alto in 1989, working first for the Ventura County Edition and then for The Times’ Valley Edition. In 1993 she left The Times for a graduate screenwriting program at USC.

Watson was among the original writers for the successful animated cable show “South Park” and had recently pitched a situation-comedy to producer Norman Lear, best known for his “All in the Family” series.

Watson is survived by her mother, Annita Watson of Sacramento; aunts Marilyn Brown and Patricia Blount of Concord; an aunt and uncle in New York; and numerous cousins. She was preceded in death by her father, Richard Watson.

Funeral arrangements, which are yet to be announced, will be under the direction of Lind Brothers of Sacramento.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Sutter Cancer Center, the American Cancer Society or the Sacramento Children’s Home.

Lucille Cummings; Bookmaker, Saleswoman

Lucille Smith Cummings, an Oxnard centenarian who once supported her family by taking gambling bets, died Sunday at a local nursing home. She had turned 100 on April 1 and had received a congratulatory note from First Lady Hillary Clinton.

“She had a million stories to tell. She had a very active life,” said Cummings’ daughter Nancy White of Oxnard.

White said her mother worked as a bookmaker for about five years, taking bets--mostly on horse races--under the pseudonym Lucille Monday.

“It was really good pay,” White recalled. “We ate well then.” Born in South Haven, Kan., in 1898, Cummings had lived in Ventura County for 20 years. She also worked as a cosmetics and car saleswoman.

In addition to White, Cummings is survived by three other daughters: June Trail of Oxnard, Mary Hunt of Los Angeles and Scott Navin of Long Island, N.Y. She also is survived by two sisters, Leona Briein and Winifred Smith, both of San Francisco; 23 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

Cummings was preceded in death by her two sons, Curt and Peter Cummings, and by her husband, Irving Cummings, who died in 1953.

Cummings’ remains will be cremated. Arrangements are under the direction of Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary, Camarillo.

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Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.