Katherine Ann "Kitty" Watson

Katherine Ann “Kitty” (Zimmerman) Watson, 78, died Friday, February 16, 2018, in Ogden, Utah, due to effects of late stage cancer. She was born February 12, 1940, in Danville, Virginia to Emma Watson Zimmerman and Jay Zimmerman and raised in New Paltz, New York.

Kitty graduated from SUNY New Paltz where she studied ornithology, beginning her lifelong love of birds, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. She began her teaching career in Monterey, California, where she married Larry Crow of San Antonio, Texas (later divorced). Together they moved to Nuremberg, Germany, where Kitty was a teacher on the US Army base, and then settled in San Antonio, where their two children were born and raised. There Kitty continued a teaching career that spanned most of the next 50 years, during which she enriched the lives of hundreds of children. After her retirement from Royalgate Elementary School she moved to Ogden, Utah, in 2016 to be near her only grandchild, who was the light of her life.

On a trip to Africa in 1990, Kitty fell in love with Kenya. She returned many times across the next 15 years, raising funds for and overseeing the construction of several libraries and schools and avidly supporting wildlife conservation. She cherished the friendships she made there and was dearly loved by many.

Kitty was a caring mother, an adoring daughter, a devoted sister and aunt, and a vital component of her extended families. She was a doting grandparent, known as “Gran Kitty” not only by her granddaughter, but by many others who loved her as a “third grandma”. Her generosity was expansive. She took a genuine interest in people and extended a thoughtfulness specific to everyone she cared for.

Kitty is survived by her brother Jay Zimmerman, Jr. (Isabel) of Carbondale, Illinois; children: Katherine Crow of San Diego, California, and Paul Crow (Sarah Rushforth), and granddaughter Willa June of Ogden, Utah.

The family would like to extend their deep appreciation to the staff at Intermountain Hospice for their compassionate help with the last weeks of Kitty’s care.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the elephant and black rhino protection and preservation programs at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org