Debra Mae “Debbie” Watson Goodwin, 69, of Snowshoe, passed from this life and began her next chapter Saturday, May 6, 2023.
Debbie, a proud West Virginia native, was born in Clarksburg December 23, 1954, and was a daughter of the late Alva and Mildred Jacobs Watson.
She was a graduate of South Harrison High School, Class of 1971. She attended West Virginia Business College and was employed at Hope Gas. She later moved to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to work at the Kennedy Space Center. The winds of change took her to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she worked in property management. The mountains of West Virginia kept calling, and she eventually decided to come back home to the country roads she knew and loved. Upon her return, she became an entrepreneur – opening a restaurant, ice cream shop and a “pop up” restaurant before going back to property management. She became a licensed real estate realtor and broker, eventually opening and operating her own agency, Mountain Valley, at the base of Snowshoe Mountain for 20 years, retiring in 2022.
Debbie loved West Virginia and was quick to join in with anyone singing “Country Roads” or to teach someone a verse or two of “The West Virginia Hills.” She never knew a stranger and wanted everyone to feel at home here in the mountains. She was an Episcopalian and a member of Chapel on the Mount at Snowshoe. She set on several local boards and worked with multiple charities in Pocahontas County, doing anything she could to better the resort community or the county at large. She will be greatly missed by those who knew her.
She was reunited with those who preceded her in death, including her parents; grandson, Finn Horgan; sister, Peggy Joseph; and brother, Al Watson.
She is survived by her daughter, Adrian Diamond, and husband, Josh, of Fernandina Beach, Florida; three grandchildren, Marley Horgan, Paisley Horgan and Fennley Bell, all of Jacksonville, Florida; sisters, Nancy Penn, of Atkins, Arkansas, and Karen Sinclair, of Nutter Fort; brothers, Bob Watson, of Laguna Niguel, California, and Vic Watson, of Slaty Fork; as well as many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and colleagues.
In keeping with her wishes, the body was cremated and her ashes will be spread in a private family ceremony.
Friends and family will hold a Celebration of Life Sunday, July 30, 2023, at 4 p.m. at the Linwood Alive! Pavilion.
Following the service, guests are invited to stay into the evening to enjoy food, stories, music and laughs as we celebrate Debbie’s life.
