Obituary of Ron Watson

Ron Watson died peacefully at home on May 5, 2018, with his loving wife, Metaxia White, at his side, following a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Ron passed away surrounded by art, the flowers in the yard that he loved so much in full bloom, and with his and Metaxia’s two vivacious dogs, Seleni and Niki, not far away.Ron received a BFA and MFA from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, was the recipient of an Artists Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, and received two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as being the recipient of other awards. In addition to his studio work, Ron was also an adored teacher and lecturer, an art consultant, and an arts administrator. He was a frequent mentor and a great friend to many. Ron retired in 2012 as Director of Texas Christian University’s School of Fine Art, where he taught for 30 years, in order to focus on his lifelong passion for making art.Ron’s work as an artist focused on finding order in our kinetic and frenzied world. He wrote of his first work space that “my studio was a solar planetarium and my thoughts began to react to my awareness of the mutability of light” and that “when I feel the angles in my sculpture with my hands, my body verifies the trueness, solidity and accuracy of them. Touching confirms seeing.” Through his love of art, Ron continually created beauty and offered his viewer’s mind a resting place amongst the world’s chaos.Ron is survived by Metaxia as well as his children and their spouses, Julie and Dave Dunakin, Molly Forbes, Nancy and John Metzger; his grandchildren, Michael and Heather Dunakin, Sarah and Matt Miller and Cassie Metzger; his great grandchildren, Zachary and Leah Grace Miller; and his countless friends and colleagues, all of whom cherished this gentle, brilliant, passionate and creative man. He will be greatly missed.