Marie Toni Watson Obituary (1932 - 2014)

Marie "Toni" Watson, 81, of Pontiac, passed away Monday, March 31, 2014 at 3:14 p.m. at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, April 4, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Marys Catholic Church in Pontiac with Father David Sabel officiating and Monsignor William Watson to concelebrate. Burial will be at St. Paul Catholic Cemetery in Odell. Visitation will be Thursday, April 3, 2014 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at St. Marys Catholic Church in Pontiac. The Rosary will be recited at 3:15 p.m. at the church. Toni was born on April 5, 1932 in Streator, daughter of Arthur and Vanita (McKoane) Trainor. She married Raymond J. Watson on August 20, 1955. He passed away on March 22, 1992. She leaves behind her two sons and favorite daughter-in-law, Raymond J. (Susan Gschwendtner) Watson Jr. of Springfield, IL and Patrick J. Watson of Odell, IL; two brothers, Jack (Dorothy) Trainor of Wing, IL and James Trainor of Pontiac, IL; one sister, Patricia Russell of Deerfield, WI; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and one sister, Ann Frake. Toni attended Blackstone Grade School, graduated from St. Paul High School Class of 1950, graduated from St. Francis College in Joliet in 1954 where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree, and she received her Masters Degree in Education from Illinois State University. Toni started her teaching career at Woodland and then Sunbury School. She always felt she was the luckiest person in the world having the opportunity to be the Kindergarten teacher in Odell for over 30 years. No one enjoyed her students and respected her fellow teachers more than Mrs. Watson. She had received in the past the Livingston County Teacher of the Year award. Toni was a life member of the Elks, a member of Adoration Group, the Athenia Literary Club, the St. Marys Womens Guild and was an active member of St. Marys Catholic Church in Pontiac. She served as President of the Livingston County Retired Teachers Association from 1998 to 2001 and was the Unit Honoree in 2013 at the Illinois Retired Teachers Association Convention in Springfield. She enjoyed Notre Dame football and basketball. She also enjoyed playing Poker in Odell, Bridge in Pontiac, and Euchre anywhere she could. Toni was well known as a loyal volunteer for many causes. Family and friends were highest on her list but teaching was her passion. Very few people had the ability to stop the Amtrak in Odell so her Kindergarteners could take an annual trip to Bloomington. She also treated her students to rides on the fire truck by the Odell Fire Department. In the last few years with her Pontiac friends, she visited China, walking on the Great Wall, took a river cruise through Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic, and finally last October she went on another river cruise, this time through France, starting in Paris and ending in Normandy. She also had time for her numerous trips to Ireland, Washington D.C. and Florida with relatives. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Memorials may be made to St. Paul Grade School in Odell, St. Marys Grade School in Pontiac, and the St. Marys Food Pantry in Pontiac.