Saturday, June 21, 2025
Elizabeth Watson lived her 86 years as a grand, unfolding adventure. She was born in Kenya's Rift Valley in 1938, where her British parents ran a dairy farm adjoining the coffee estate later immortalized in the movie “Out of Africa.” When the farm was sold, the family's horizons expanded – to Australia, New Zealand, the Channel Islands, and England – seeding Elizabeth's lifelong curiosity about people and places.
Journalism became her first calling, sending her across continents. Captivated by the American habit of forthrightness and "saying what needed to be said," she immigrated to the United States, earned a teaching degree and, with her husband, set off for the Alaska bush. There she taught English to elementary and high-school students and found the landscape that thrilled her most.
In 1985 she, her husband, their young daughter, a cat, and a dog boarded an inflatable raft and traveled 1,000 miles down the Yukon River to the Bering Sea – an exploit she forever called "the greatest adventure."
Later, Elizabeth settled in Edmonds, Washington, to be near her daughter and growing grandchildren. Yet her living-room remained a launchpad for friends and neighbors who sailed with her – through tales of African dawns, Arctic nights, and journalistic trenches – without ever leaving their chairs.
Diagnosed with cancer in March 2025, Elizabeth greeted the news with characteristic nerve, calling her final journey "the next adventure." She passed away on May 4, 2025, surrounded by family and stories still untold.
Elizabeth is survived by her daughter, Alethea Westover; grandchildren, Isadora and Lincoln Westover; brother, Douglas Watson; and sister, Diana Watson. Her courage, curiosity, and irrepressible spirit will be deeply missed and joyfully remembered.
Her memorial will be held this coming Thursday, May 15th at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Rosary Church in Edmonds.
