WESTERLO — Thelma Virginia Werner Watson of Westerlo took care of those she loved — she dropped out of high school to tend to her ill mother and raised her own children to abide by the Golden Rule.

She died on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020, at the Evergreen Commons Nursing Home. She was 98.

“She taught me patience, and a good work ethic,” said her son, Gregory Watson. “She always said, ‘Treat people the way you want them to treat you.’”

That was a philosophy that she “definitely” followed herself, her son said, even during her last two years, living in a nursing home where she was well-liked. She remained kind and caring despite all of her siblings, one of her sons, and her many friends dying before her.

Mrs. Watson was born in Kingston — “an uptown girl,” her son said — the daughter of the late Louis J. Werner and Margaret Mary Bergan Werner.  She was the youngest of six children: three boys and three girls.

Her mother, who was born in Virginia, had an Irish mother and an Austrian father. “Only in America,” said her son.

After the stock-market crash plunged the country into the Great Depression, Mrs. Watson’s father “worked whatever jobs he could get,” Gregory Watson said. Among them were hanging wallpaper and baking pastries.

Mrs. Watson’s mother, of whom she was very fond, became ill. “My mother dropped out of school to take care of her,” said Mr. Watson. “She wished I could meet her,” said Mr. Watson of the grandmother who had died long before he was born.

Mrs. Watson lived in Rensselaer before moving to Westerlo, and was a communicant of St. John the Evangelist Church in Rensselaer and St. John the Baptist Church in Greenville. “She was very, very religious,” her son said. “A devout Catholic, she prayed the rosary every day.”

During World War II, Mrs. Watson was employed by Winthrop Stearns in Rensselaer, and continued working for Sterling Winthrop. “It was a defense plant,” said Mr. Watson. “My dad worked there as well, deferred from the military.”

George Monroe Watson’s grandfather had served in the Civil War and he himself wanted to serve in World War II. “My mother had to sign the paperwork,” said their son. George Watson left behind his wife and two young children as he joined the Marines and served in the South Pacific.

The family was reunited after the war.

Mr. Watson described his mother as “a typical ’50s mom — she kept house, kept an eye on the kids,” he said.

Mr. Watson also said, “She was an excellent cook.” She was known for her goulash recipe, he said, and she was famous for her chicken soup.

“She was always smiling, radiant, and pleasant,” her son concluded.

“Thelma was happiest in her role as a caretaker of her mother and her children, and dearly loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” her family wrote in a tribute.

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Thelma Virginia Werner Watson  is survived by her children, John P. Watson, Diane M. Bunkoff and her husband, Jim, Gregory M. Watson, Paul D. Watson and his wife, Amy; by her grandchildren, Candice “Candi” Sledziewski, Margaret Bunkoff-Chevalier and her husband, John Chevalier, David M. Watson, and Morgan Justine Murphy and her husband, Michael P.; by her great-grandchildren, Gregory and Garek Sledziewski, and Iris and Johnny Chevalier; and by many nieces and nephews.

Her husband, George Monroe Watson, died before her, as did her son George J. Watson, and her siblings, Marie Watson, George “Bud” Werner, Wilhelmenia Cirilli, Joseph Werner, and Paul Werner.

Funeral services will be held in the Hans Funeral Home at 1088 Western Ave. in Albany on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. Relatives and friends are invited, and may call at the funeral home Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. Interment will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rensselaer.

Memorial messages may be left below.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX  75231-4596 or to the Westerlo Fire Department, 592 Route 143, Westerlo, NY 12193.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer