A Life Story

June 29, 1955 – April 14, 2026 Jack Nelson Watkins, Jr. died April 14, 2026 in Richmond Hill, after a long illness. He was born in Savannah in 1955, and graduated from Robert W. Groves High School in 1973. He started working at Union Camp’s Savannah paper mill as a pipefitter, and taught the skill at his union, local 188. Jack retired from International Paper as Maintenance Supervisor. Jack married Carolyn in 1977, and they began building their family home on Cranston Bluff in 1983, when the landscape was still woods, marsh and river. As a builder, Jack was a perfectionist who knew every nail, board, pipe and length of electrical wiring personally. They raised Brian and Amanda there, retired there, and Jack died in the home he had built. He made the most of living on the water — fishing in St. Catherines Sound, shrimping with a cast net in the marsh, swimming and waterskiing with his family and friends on the Jericho River, crabbing from the dock. He and Carolyn, both excellent cooks, hosted legendary barbecues and Low Country shrimp boil feasts for kin and friends. Jack was preceded in death by his parents, Jack Nelson Watkins, Sr. and Blanche Glisson Watkins, and his sister, Janell Watkins Morris. Survivors include his wife, Carolyn Foxbower Watkins; son, Brian Watkins (Kelly Lezama); daughter Amanda Watkins West (Ted); granddaughter, Molly West; sister, Ellen Watkins Glass (Glenn); brother, Dennis Watkins (Glenda); and several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be at 12:00 p.m. and the funeral service will be at 1:00 p.m, on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at Baker McCullough Funeral Home – Hodgson Memorial Chapel, 7415 Hodgson Memorial Drive, Savannah, Georgia 31406. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Hospice Savannah, P.O. Box 13190, Savannah, GA 31416.