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Alfred Watts obituary

Alfred Chapman Watts was born in Bay St. Louis, Miss, on Jan. 18, 1944 to parents James William Watts, Jr. and Virginia Chapman Watts. He passed away in Lake City, Minn. on June 19, 2021 at the age of 77. He was a devoted husband and father, loved sailing, and was an active member of the HAM radio community.  After retirement, he enjoyed the beautiful views from his home in Albuquerque, spending summers in Frontenac, Minn., and sailing Lake Pepin. He looked back with satisfaction on a long, meaningful career at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M.  Dr. Alfred Chapman Watts (Al) was a visionary and an accomplished engineer and missile defense pioneer in the field of hypersonics. He was a tremendous mentor and developer of engineers and future leaders.  Al always looked for the good in people and was adept at identifying appropriate growth opportunities for the members of his team. Post-retirement, he continued his association with Sandia as a Consultant.  In that role, he mentored the next generation of flight control systems engineers, all of whom greatly appreciated and admired Al’s wisdom and friendship. Alfred is survived by his wife, Jan Armstrong, sons Alfred Chapman (Angela) Watts, Jr. and James (Ashley) Watts, brother Richard (Bonnie) Watts, sister-in-law Beatty Watts, step-son Adam Gamradt, and step-daughter Angelina Gamradt. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother James William Watts III (Bill).
    A Celebration of Life will be held Tuesday, June 29 at 11 a.m. at the Mahn Family Funeral Home Anderson - Peterson Chapel Lake City. A time of Sharing will be from 10 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the funeral home. The family would like to invite everyone down to the Lake City Yacht Club for a light lunch following the Celebration of Life.  Memorial donations can be made to the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation https://pkdcure.org/, the New Mexico Philharmonic https://nmphil.org, or the Minnesota Orchestra https://minnesotaorchestra.org. Online condolences may be placed at www.mahnfamilyfuneralhome.com.
 

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ISSN 2994-1059 (print)  ISSN 2994-1067 (online)