CHARLES CITY — Dorothy “Dot” Watson, 97, of Charles City, died peacefully Saturday, August 22, 2026, at her home with her son by her side.
At Dot’s request, no services will be held. Burial will take place at a later date at Oakwood Cemetery in Floyd.
Dorothy Louise Shultz Watson was born April 24, 1929, in Greene, Iowa, the daughter of Berton and Louise Drogemuller Shultz.
She was baptized and confirmed at Saint Peter Lutheran Church in Greene and graduated from Greene Public School with the Class of 1946.
That same year, Dot met the man who would become her husband, Norman “Jim” Watson, at a roller skating rink in Charles City.
The couple married October 18, 1947, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua and made their home in Charles City. They raised two sons, Douglas and David, and shared 65 years of marriage before Jim died in 2013.
Dot spent much of her working life with the Salsbury-Solvay company, where she worked for 43 years in the data processing department.
She eventually became a computer programmer and retired in January 1992, completing a career that stretched across decades of enormous technological change.
Dot was a member of Saint John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charles City.
She especially enjoyed time spent with family and friends and treasured summers at the family’s cabin at Holiday Lake.
Her hobbies included reading, knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, playing solitaire, completing jigsaw and crossword puzzles and keeping in touch with family and friends through her computer.
Dot is survived by her son, David Watson and his wife, Jacquie, of Charles City; grandchildren Gretchen Watson Mathison, Nathan Watson and Jodi Watson; daughter-in-law Cheryl Placek; step-grandchildren Haile Placek and Taylor Placek; six great-grandchildren; three step-great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; her sister, Frances Starkweather; and many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Jim; son, Douglas; grandson Nicholas David Watson; her parents; sister Beverly Heidenwirth; brother Berton Shultz Jr.; and other relatives who were important throughout her life.
Memorials may be handled by the family in accordance with Dot’s wishes or directed to St. Croix Hospice or St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charles City.
Hauser Weishaar Funeral Home of Charles City is assisting the family. To read more and see the full obituary, please click here.
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