Arthur Rich Watkins - July 1916 - February 2012

Bryan's father passed away on February 23, 2012 in Orem, Utah. He had fallen the night before and also the morning he passed away, so Bryan's two siblings, Ron and Denise, went to check on him that morning. He was weak, but he was dressed and sitting in his chair. They gave him an apple and after awhile, asked him if he felt like walking to lunch. He said he did, so they helped him up and he was able to use his walker. 
About half way to the lunch room, he said he didn't feel well, so they found him a wheelchair to sit in. Soon after that, he put his head back and he was gone. They rushed him back to his room and laid him on his bed, but he was already gone. Just like that! We are so thankful he was able to go quickly and didn't have to suffer.

What an amazing man he was and still is! We will miss him, but we're so happy he can now be reunited with his sweetheart, Ruth, which is what he has wanted desperately for 12 years! Our son, Michael, wrote the following timeline on his blog and he said it so well that I copied this from him:

·                     Born July 31, 1916 in Salt Lake City, Utah

·                     Grew up on a turkey and cherry farm

·                     Served an LDS mission the Swiss & German Mission from 1936-1939

·                  While serving in Austria, he stood within 30 yards of Adolf Hitler in 1938 while  Germany and Austria were being unified

·                   After his three year mission, he stayed in Europe for an extra 6 months to learn French! 

·                    Married Ruth Hansen in 1941

·             Graduated from BYU with a Bachelors and Masters in Germanic Languages 

·             Drafted into World War II as an Intelligence Officer. Intercepted German messages

·             While stationed in Italy, picked up Italian 

·             Graduated from Stanford University with a PhD in Germanic Languages

·             Long career as a Professor at BYU

·            Taught German, Russian, French, Norwegian, Gothic, and Italian (there may be more that                  I don't know about)

·            He was actually fluent in German, Norwegian, French, and Italian and still read the Book of Mormon in those languages on a daily basis in his 95th year

·            Twice served as a Mission President: Vienna, Austria and Padua, Italy 

·            Was always reading a book and learning

·            Fathered 8 children, 42 grandchildren and 112 great-grandchildren (includes expecting)

• Touched the lives of thousands of individuals 
• After waiting 12 years to be re-united with his wife Ruth, he peacefully and happily died February 23, 2012

He may not have a beard like the Dos Equis guy, but he is right up there with The Most Interesting Man in the World for his wealth of traveling, and life experiences. He was a Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-grandfather, Professor, War Veteran, Mission President, Gardener, Linguist, Ice-cream Connoisseur, Etymologist, Philosopher, Historian, Friend, Disciple, Priesthood holder, and Example. We always knew he could have dominated in the game show Jeopardy. As a family, we couldn't be happier to celebrate an abundant life.