Obituaries

George Whitman Watts

Obituary

George Whitman Watts, 85, went Home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, October 29th, 2025.

George was born on January 19, 1940  to Joyce and John Watts.  He was born in Es Salt, Jordan, where his parents lived and worked as Christian missionaries.  After the birth of his younger brother, John, the family came to the states in 1944, living in various places; Minnesota, Victoria, Vancouver, Tonasket, and California.  They welcomed the birth of his sister, Dorothy, and eventually the family landed in Calgary, Alberta, where he spent most of his school years. In his younger years, George enjoyed playing hockey and baseball.  He graduated Crescent Heights High School in 1957 and went to Bethel Bible Institute in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  There, he met Anne Labentsoff.  They moved separately back to Calgary, where George attended accounting school and Anne went to nursing school.  They married in Calgary in 1963 and moved to Montreal for a few years, took up skiing, and adopted a son, Gordon Matthew.  When Matthew, as he was called, was about 3 years old, they moved to Lewiston, New York, as George took an accounting job in Niagara Falls, New York. Their daughter, Sarah, was born soon after, in 1975.  George and Anne became founding members of Lewiston Assembly of God, where he helped build the church, both internally and externally.  He was the Treasurer for a time, as well as board member, and an orchestra member, (George picked up the tuba in his adult years!). He and Anne were Children’s Church leaders, hosting youth groups at their home.  In 1988, the family moved to Bothell, Washington. George continued to be an accountant, starting his own business.  George was a very sociable person; meeting friends regularly for coffee, over two decades of coffee dates!  He played tuba in various parades/events and with different organizations.  He sang with the Kirkland Choral Society and in the choir at his church, Bellevue Presbyterian.  He and Anne went to Maui for two weeks every year, for 20 + years and hosted several friends and extended family there. Being in Hawaii with his grandkids was especially dear to him.  George was a generous accountant (charging his clients little-to-nothing to do their taxes), friend, husband, and father.  He took care of Anne in their home until her passing.  He moved to Merrill Gardens in Kirkland in 2023, where he met new friends and kept in touch via Zoom with other friends who were out of town.  George was a devout follower of Jesus and wanted everyone to hear about the gospel.  He lived his life as if for God and not for people; faithfully reading his Bible and speaking openly about his belief in God, praying for every nonbeliever in his life, giving away cars to friends/family who needed them, opening his home to people who needed a place to stay/live, working unpleasant, labor jobs when accounting jobs were few, volunteering in every church he attended, and donating to charitable organizations continuously for decades.  Many of these things, his friends never knew about because he lived with humility and grace.

George is survived by his brother, John (Anne), sister, Dorothy (Larry), daughter, Sarah (Todd) and their children Cohen, Audrey, and Fletcher, as well as various nieces/nephews/cousins.  George’s wife of 57 years, Anne passed away in March of 2021.  His son, Matthew passed away in June of 2021.

Please join us for a Memorial and Celebration of Life of George Watts on Friday, November 21st, 2025 at 1pm, Bellevue Presbyterian Church, 1717 Bellevue Way, Northeast.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Faith Comes by Hearing, an organization dear to George’s heart, that translates the Bible for people all around the world.  

George’s legacy and goal in life was for every person on earth to know and live for Jesus.