Obituary of Watson Healy

Watson Arthur Healy Age 88, passed away peacefully, with family surrounding him, on Saturday, November 30, 2013 beloved husband of the late Celeste F. (nee Ruder) Healy, July 9, 2013. Watson was born on December 11, 1924 in Kankakee, Illinois to the late Arthur and Mabel (nee Robertson) Healy. Beloved father of David (Carolyn) Healy, Rebecca (Frank) Petrek, James (Madonna) Healy, Gary (Nancy) Healy and Robert (Moira) Healy; loving grandfather of Ben and Katy Healy, Jason (Jessica) and Stacey Petrek, Michael (fiancée Laura Demarest), Kevin, Claire and Daniel Healy, Cassidy and Brian Healy and Meaghan (Mike) Cisneros, Betsy, Maureen, Ryan and Robert Healy; loving great-grandfather of Cole Petrek, Gianna and Ellie Cisneros; brother-in-law of Ardelle (nee Ruder) Norgaard; beloved uncle of many nieces and nephews. Preceded by his parents; his brother, Edward, and sister-in-law, Hazel; his sister, Marian Baker and brother-in-law, James; and his sister, Marjorie Bess and brother-in-law, Ray. Watson grew up on the Healy Fruit Farm outside Kankakee. From 1938 to 1942, he attended Herscher Township High School, where he met Celeste, the love of his life. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943, and ultimately became a pilot in the Nary Air Corps. He had reached Pearl Harbor and was preparing for his first mission when the war ended. Watson and Celeste married in 1946. They joined the many other GI couples at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where Watson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture, graduating in 1950. Watson and Celeste arrived in Joliet in 1954, where Watson joined the architectural firm of Kreugel and Wilkins, becoming a partner in the firm Kreugel, Wilkins, Healy & Moore the following year. He continued with that firm for his entire professional life, becoming its President in 1965 and, finally, Chairman of Healy, Snyder, Bender & Associates, Inc., until his retirement in 1988. As president of the firm, Watson oversaw the design and construction of hundreds of school building projects, along with a variety of other building types. His own work includes Joliet West and East (now Joliet Job Corps) High Schools, the St. Charles Borromeo High School and College Seminary in Romeoville, and the original Bill Jacobs Chevrolet facility in Joliet. Watson was very active in the community. To make a representative but far from exhaustive list: he was President of the Joliet Rotary Club and the George Werden Buck Boys Club; he served for 42 years on the Diocese of Joliet Board of Lay Consultors and was an active member of many fund drives. He was a longtime Director of the First National Bank of Joliet; a Trustee of the University of St. Francis; a founding member of the Joliet Toastmasters Club and received Jaycee's Distinguished Service Award for 1959. Watson was a parishioner of the Cathedral of St. Raymond for 56 years where he took great joy in bringing the Eucharist to the homebound. He enjoyed golf, gin rummy and camaraderie at the Joliet Country Club, where he also served a term as President. Watson Healy knew how to love and knew how to work. His children are proud and grateful to have had such a father. Funeral Services for Watson A. Healy will be Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. from the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black at Essington Rds., Joliet, to the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. Interment in Ss. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Herscher, will immediately follow the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be designated to Multiple System Atrophy research at the Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.org/development/) or the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus, 604 N. Raynor Avenue, Joliet, IL 60435. Visitation Wednesday, 4-8 p.m., at the funeral home. For information (815) 741-5500 or www.fredcdames.com