In Loving Memory Of

Rose Watson Black

July 5, 1945 – July 31, 2024

Rose Watson Black found her greatest treasure when she entered the gates of Heaven, surrounded by her loving family, on Wednesday July 31, 2024.  Rose was born in Lowland, NC, near the Pamlico Sound, to the late Owen L. Watson and Mayfield Lamm.  Her family moved to Raleigh in 1950, where she attended Broughton High School and later Hardbarger Business College.  She worked in the family business, Watson Apartments, for 30 years.  Rose was a faithful servant of God, and a lifelong member of Brooks Avenue Church of Christ, where she met her husband of 60 years, Franklin.

Rose was a child at heart; she loved life and saw the beauty in everything.  She was a thrifter and reveled in the thrill of a good find, especially if it was a unique old chair.  She could repurpose anything, and never let anything go to waste.  She spent countless hours treasure hunting with her metal detector.  She was a collector, her garden made up of seeds and shoots gathered from other gardens and friends.  She found joy in fishing at the beach, putting together puzzles, reading a good mystery novel, and solving crossword puzzles.  She loved sewing and stuffing bears for the church Bear Ministry.

Rose was preceded in death by her father Olen and her mother Mayfield, sisters Nancy Ann Fair and Mae Cruz, and her brother Roy Watson.  She is survived by her husband Franklin, daughter Amanda Williford (Jeff), son Frank Black III (Becky); her grandchildren Meghan Richardson (Nate), Hunter Haynes (Luke), Rachel Norton (Jessi), Miranda Bravo (Joel), and Grayson Black; her great grandchildren, Emery, Bellamy, Owen, and Dottie; and siblings Betsy Rose (Verlon), Ada Sorrell, Olen Watson Jr. (Vada), and Gale Johnson