Frank Benjamin "Benjie" Watters Jr.'s Obituary
Frank Benjamin “Benjie” Watters, Jr. passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 surrounded by family at his home in Mandeville, LA. He was born on February 17, 1958 in New Orleans, LA to Mary Laverne Williams Watters and the late Frank Benjamin Watters, Sr.
Benjie was the beloved husband of Bobbie Lou Thompson Watters. He was the loving father of Matthew Stanley Bowers (Michelle Bowers), Ashley Way Bowers, Zachary Benjamin Watters (Cristin Watters) and Peyton Reid Watters (Caroline Schutz). Benjie was the proud, devoted grandfather of Cooper McWilliams, John Parker Bowers, Jackson Bowers and Benji Watters. He was the brother of Brenda Roddy (Lonnie Roddy) and Constance Watters. He was deeply loved by numerous nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and cousins.
Benjie was a proud member of the John Curtis Patriots’ 1975 state championship football team. As the starting center, a captain and all-district performer, he was a leader on the first state championship team in the school’s history.
Upon graduation, he attended Nicholls State University before launching a successful career as a residential homebuilder, building hundreds of single-family homes in Jefferson, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa and St. Tammany Parishes. As a leader in the homebuilding community, Benjie was called upon to build a complete home (the original “Dream Home”) for display in the Superdome during the 1996 New Orleans Home and Garden Show, a feat never before accomplished.
A supportive husband, father and grandfather, you could count on Benjie to be there cheering on his children Zachary, Peyton and Matthew and grandson, Cooper, at Skipper Stadium or in a basketball gym supporting his grandsons John Parker and Jackson. He also enjoyed hunting and could be found in his deer camps or fishing the salt marshes of South Louisiana and the deep blue waters of the Caribbean.
Always a friend to those he loved and strangers alike, Benjie remained supportive and there in a selfless way despite battling sickness in his last years. You could count on him as a friend, a father, a grandfather, a brother, a son and a husband.
A memorial will be held outdoors at Pinecrest Memorial Gardens, Covington, LA on Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 1 p.m. E.J. Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements. Please share a memory on the Tribute Wall at www.ejfieldingfh.com.
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