THE WATERMAN
By Sheldon Hughes
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Our beloved Waterman, KERN WATSON passed away on
September 12, 2005, of Heart failure. He was a friend to everyone who knew him, and he will be greatly missed.
He would bend over backwards to help out a friend in need, as that is what happened on this tragic day.
Kern will always be remembered as “our waterman” even though he sold his
trucks and the business over a year ago. He was a General Contractor for years, and he was in his glory helping a friend with a concrete slab when he collapsed. He was funny, had a sharp wit, and very intelligent. He had a particular way of doing things. Whatever he did, it had to be perfect----second best would not do, as it showed in the maintenance he performed on his G.M.C. Water Truck. I will never forget the sound of that big Detroit Diesel screaming as he turned down our road with a load of water, no matter what the temperature was-rain or shine. As most of us know, Kern and his Beloved wife were moving back east and they have already made a couple of trips with most of their belongings, just waiting for the sale of their home in Joshua Tree. This is not a ploy to ask for donations, do not send any money. Just remember Kern and keep him alive in our hearts and spirit. I know all this to be true, as I was one of the few privileged Kern would invite to his home.
09/17/2005 Last Monday I got a frantic call about 5:30 P.M. from my neighbor Terry telling me that her husband and my dear, dear friend Kern Watson had died of a heart attack that afternoon at age 54. Most folks in our community won’t know Kern, he was a private person, but the folks in Wonder Valley know him, Kern delivered water to their homes for many, many years. I met Kern when I first began moving up here in 97 and became good friends. He was hard on the outside, but once you got to know him, a soft gentle man inside, and he didn’t suffer fools. He was gifted with many talents and could attack any problem with a stubborn can do attitude. I’d drop by his garage and he’d always be working on something; rebuilding a car engine, welding something or other, or working on his water truck getting it ready for tomorrows deliveries that would take him down some of our desert’s unpaved rock-strewn roads. There are about three tech type people in our area that I can talk to about computers and not get yawned at and Kern was one of the three. We would talk on the phone for hours about processors, ram, bios, and a number of other tech stuff. I had purchased a new laptop a couple of weeks ago and didn’t tell Kern, I just dropped a few hints to see if he’d catch on (we were always trying to out do each other), and now I’ll never be able to show him it. A few years ago Kern and I were working on Joyce Ware’s old truck. One or more of the cylinders were bad and we had just finished the repairs. Kern was working on the idle and said watch this Bob. He placed a screwdriver deep into the workings of the carburetor but something went wrong, the screwdriver got stuck, and the old engine began to run away. Higher and higher the engine screamed! When I saw my dog Cheetah run for safety so did I. A surprised Kern gathered himself and quickly turned off the ignition before the old Ford blew up. From then on I would always kid him about his magic screwdriver. He’d be working on something and I would ask him “Kern, are ya goin ta use yer magic screwdriver on it?” and he would give me a sideways glance with a sly smile that said, “Don’t push it Bob”. Later in his life Kern had found his true love: his wife Terry. He had also found purpose and a goal: To fix-up and sell their home and move to Virginia and start a new life there. He almost made it.
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