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Richard B. Watson
09/20/1926 — 09/23/2006
From Richland, WA, US | Born in Montebello, California
Richard B. Watson
Richard B. Watson was born Sept. 20, 1926 in Montebello, CA, thus beginning the story of a long, busy and interesting life.
As a child he was raised in California until he moved to Bremerton in 1939. Oh the stories he told of his years in that town. He graduated from Bremerton High School in 1944. After graduating he joined the Air Force and was honorably discharged after the war.
In 1949 he moved to Richland, where he opened the first of many businesses. Dick and Jerrys Fine Foods was the original 7-11 in 1950 Uptown Richland. He then moved up the block to open the Drift Inn Tavern. In 1960 he and his long-time partner Jerry Hutson opened the Gaslight Tavern and Pizza Parlor. Upon selling the Gaslight, there was a short period of retirement before opening Muffler Medico next to Griggs in Pasco, and RBs Sidewalk Café inside Griggs.
By 1978 he finally gave up his self-employed status and joined the ranks at Hanford, going to work for Battelle first as a millwright then as an autoclave specialist until his last retirement in 1991.
Throughout his lifetime he enjoyed many hobbies including hunting, fishing, gold prospecting, NSCAR and his cabin at Priest Lake. Up until his health started to decline, he also enjoyed welding up signs for friends and family, many of which were some of his favorite sayings: Get Used to It; Works for Me; Do It Now; Suck It Up.
He is survived by Mark and Kelly Watson of Gig Harbor; Kris and Jack Bonewell of Richland; Larry and Kathy Rau of Rosebud, Montana; numerous grandchildren and family friends.
He now joins those who went before him: his loving wife and partner Elaine Watson; his parents Honey and Ed Watson; and so many friends.
At his request, there will be no services but to honor his memory please lift your favorite beverage and toast his life and the relationship you had with him.
To celebrate Dicks life, join the family Saturday, Oct. 21st at 2 PM at the Towne Crier in Richland.
Dad Thank you so much for being you! You taught me so much about everything! Ill miss you but I know you are finally out of pain and finding peace again. Love you always, Kris
Dad Thanks for all youve taught me and for always being there for me. I know the last couple of years were the toughest for you, and you did your best, as always. Im gonna miss ya pops, Mark
With respect for loving Mom and bringing her and her children into your life and being a responsible father. The fear of consequences kept the path a little straighter. Thanks for the way you lived your life that made many great memories the Blue Mountains and outdoor activities that shaped my life and career path; accepting hard work; Dudleys garage; Hinkles and the River; BDs Farm; the Gaslight and Tom, to name a few. Thanks for kindly criticism and maybe a little Crow Pie. I pulled the top on a can of Bud and you didnt reach for it so have a great journey and give a big hug to Mom for us, Larry and Kathy
To the family of Dick Watson,
I am so sorry to hear of Dick’s passing. I am the daughter of Jerry Hutson. And I have not seen Dick since about the time of my father’s death in 1967. I was only 12. But what I do remember about Dick was how nice he was to my sister and I and what a good looking man he was. He was very good to my mother when dad passed away. And to be honest, life was not the same after 1967. I missed Dad, the Gaslight, the ol’ friends and especially Dick.
I even tried working at the Gaslight in my senior year in high school but it was not the same without Dad and Dick.
Though out my life, every time I would smell a good cigar around me, I would think of Dick and smile. As I remember, he loved a good cigar.
In my home we have a bar in our family room. I have Dad’s picture from the Gaslight my sister has one too hanging on the wall next to it along with a picture of Dad and Dick at the Gaslight. Time goes by so quickly but memories last forever.
I have moved alot in my life and returned to Richland a few years ago. I had heard your dad was still living in Richland and had wanted to drop by and say hello but never seem to get around to it. I am so sorry I never did. I plan to make the Celebration of Life for him at the Towne Crier and hope to meet up with some of you there.
My thoughts are prayers are with all of you. And to know that Dad has his good friend with him now gives me a nice feeling.
God Bless you Dick!
Terry Hutson Gunter
1497 Chardonnay Drive
Richland, WA 99352
509 628-2858
Dick:
Your pasing brought back old memories of when I had the Richland Bowling Lanes. We stated discussing relocation of the Drift In Tavern to the vacant space of a former tavern at the Richland Bowling Lanes during October, 1959. Finally in February, 1960 you gave me a Drift In Tavern check of $50 as a deposit to rent the former tavern space. I never cashed the check and still have it. You and your partner Jerry Hutson had purchased an old saloon back bar, late 1800’s vintage for $150 in Portland and were unhappy that that it cost $50 to get it moved here. Now market value of $30,000 to $50,000.Your wife Elaine and Jerry’s wife Pauline spent hours evenings using varnish remover to remove several coats of varnish which had been applied to the back bar over the years.
You had planned to be relocated within 30 days but it was a bigger job than you had planned. I mentioned that you should get some help to speed up the move. You said that you were short of funds and I suggested borrowing some. that you would have it back in a few weeks, that every day of lost business can’t be replaced. You said “Jack, I just hope business will be half as good as you think it will be”.
Time went by and in May a couple from the coast bought the Richland Bowling Lanes for a son in the military service in Korea who would be discharged soon. They changed the name to The Space Lanes. I tryed to convince you that it would be in your best interest for me to transfer my lease with ACE to you. You and Jerry didn’t want to be landlords and responsible for the entire building and would prefer to rent from the Space Lanes.
The Drift In Tavern was transferred to 99 Lee Blvd. in July and renamed The Gaslight. You had purchased an old Honky Tonk player piano and had a piano player friend to play it during evenings. For weeks, during evenings, it was standing in line outside by customers waiting to get in. The Lucky 5 Tavern acros the street benefitted from those who became tired of waiting in line and went across the street. A beer distributor informed me several weeks later The Gaslight had the largest volume of beer sold by any tavern in southeastern Washington.
I have one of the historical “1800’s” vintage calendars of The Gaslight on my office wall with Jerry and your pictures in your “1800’s” garb on each page. I, as well as those of you who were customers during the 1969’s, will always remember the real “1800’s” atmosphere of the player piano, the bar and the enjoyment of everyone.
Rest in pease, Dick
Well we go back quite a few years…One of the most remembered memories were in 1948 when we were married and Dick and some of Bob’s buddies decided to take our car out for the evening before our wedding and managed to blow up the transmission so we had to borrow Bob’s counsins to take us to California on our honeymoon….Well on our way down to LA Dick told us to stop and see his Dad, he had a motel on the way, actually Dick gave Bob a letter introducing us, but Bob thought no we will just register, as it turned out his Dad comped us the room anyway after he found out who we were. We just had dinner with the Joe Hudson’s another friend of Dick’s and we managed to raise a few toasts to him like we used to do with all of us. One of the things he did was every Class reunion we had he would be there with his camera and T-shirt with the pictures of classmates at graduation time, and those of us who were there he would come with another shirt with the new pictures on. I, Gail was one of the lucky one’s who was still around and am the shortest of the two women in the recent pictures. He will be missed by many of us from long ago and I’m sure many others. Gail and Bob Calnan
To the family of Dick Watson,
I am so sorry to hear of Dick’s passing. I am the daughter of Jerry Hutson. And I have not seen Dick since about the time of my father’s death in 1967. I was only 12. But what I do remember about Dick was how nice he was to my sister and I and what a good looking man he was. He was very good to my mother when dad passed away. And to be honest, life was not the same after 1967. I missed Dad, the Gaslight, the ol’ friends and especially Dick.
I even tried working at the Gaslight in my senior year in high school but it was not the same without Dad and Dick.
Though out my life, every time I would smell a good cigar around me, I would think of Dick and smile. As I remember, he loved a good cigar.
In my home we have a bar in our family room. I have Dad’s picture from the Gaslight my sister has one too hanging on the wall next to it along with a picture of Dad and Dick at the Gaslight. Time goes by so quickly but memories last forever.
I have moved alot in my life and returned to Richland a few years ago. I had heard your dad was still living in Richland and had wanted to drop by and say hello but never seem to get around to it. I am so sorry I never did. I plan to make the Celebration of Life for him at the Towne Crier and hope to meet up with some of you there.
My thoughts are prayers are with all of you. And to know that Dad has his good friend with him now gives me a nice feeling.
God Bless you Dick!
Terry Hutson Gunter
1497 Chardonnay Drive
Richland, WA 99352
509 628-2858
Dick:
Your pasing brought back old memories of when I had the Richland Bowling Lanes. We stated discussing relocation of the Drift In Tavern to the vacant space of a former tavern at the Richland Bowling Lanes during October, 1959. Finally in February, 1960 you gave me a Drift In Tavern check of $50 as a deposit to rent the former tavern space. I never cashed the check and still have it. You and your partner Jerry Hutson had purchased an old saloon back bar, late 1800’s vintage for $150 in Portland and were unhappy that that it cost $50 to get it moved here. Now market value of $30,000 to $50,000.Your wife Elaine and Jerry’s wife Pauline spent hours evenings using varnish remover to remove several coats of varnish which had been applied to the back bar over the years.
You had planned to be relocated within 30 days but it was a bigger job than you had planned. I mentioned that you should get some help to speed up the move. You said that you were short of funds and I suggested borrowing some. that you would have it back in a few weeks, that every day of lost business can’t be replaced. You said “Jack, I just hope business will be half as good as you think it will be”.
Time went by and in May a couple from the coast bought the Richland Bowling Lanes for a son in the military service in Korea who would be discharged soon. They changed the name to The Space Lanes. I tryed to convince you that it would be in your best interest for me to transfer my lease with ACE to you. You and Jerry didn’t want to be landlords and responsible for the entire building and would prefer to rent from the Space Lanes.
The Drift In Tavern was transferred to 99 Lee Blvd. in July and renamed The Gaslight. You had purchased an old Honky Tonk player piano and had a piano player friend to play it during evenings. For weeks, during evenings, it was standing in line outside by customers waiting to get in. The Lucky 5 Tavern acros the street benefitted from those who became tired of waiting in line and went across the street. A beer distributor informed me several weeks later The Gaslight had the largest volume of beer sold by any tavern in southeastern Washington.
I have one of the historical “1800’s” vintage calendars of The Gaslight on my office wall with Jerry and your pictures in your “1800’s” garb on each page. I, as well as those of you who were customers during the 1969’s, will always remember the real “1800’s” atmosphere of the player piano, the bar and the enjoyment of everyone.
Rest in pease, Dick
Well we go back quite a few years…One of the most remembered memories were in 1948 when we were married and Dick and some of Bob’s buddies decided to take our car out for the evening before our wedding and managed to blow up the transmission so we had to borrow Bob’s counsins to take us to California on our honeymoon….Well on our way down to LA Dick told us to stop and see his Dad, he had a motel on the way, actually Dick gave Bob a letter introducing us, but Bob thought no we will just register, as it turned out his Dad comped us the room anyway after he found out who we were. We just had dinner with the Joe Hudson’s another friend of Dick’s and we managed to raise a few toasts to him like we used to do with all of us. One of the things he did was every Class reunion we had he would be there with his camera and T-shirt with the pictures of classmates at graduation time, and those of us who were there he would come with another shirt with the new pictures on. I, Gail was one of the lucky one’s who was still around and am the shortest of the two women in the recent pictures. He will be missed by many of us from long ago and I’m sure many others. Gail and Bob Calnan
We were sorry to hear about Dick’s passing. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his families. May he rest in peace. Judi and Mike Dahl
Please accept our deepest condolences for your loss. It is hard to express our feelins for the loss of someone we shared so many great times with. From the late 40’s, when we were asked to leave the state or put fenders on our latest “Hot Rod”, We went to work in Oregon” to the “Tijuana Jail” fake to a few weeks ago when we sat on our deck with a pot of coffee and a couple of cigars and relived a lot of the good times we had shared.We would like to hear from you if you have time. Love, Velda and Ray
Guestbook for
Richard B. Watson