Milling & Baking News - August 12, 2008 - 29

People

John J. Watson dies at 78; headed
Watson Inc., led cereal chemists
EASTON, CONN. - John J. Watson,
the retired president and chairman
of Watson Inc. and an ingredient
industry leader, died July 18 at his
vacation home on Upper Saranac
Lake, N.Y. He was 78.
Mr. Watson spent his career at
Watson, Inc., West Haven, Conn., a
business established by his father in
1939 on Long Island as a supplier of
donut mixes.
A 1951 graduate of Georgetown
University with a degree in chemistry, Mr. Watson joined the family
business after serving in the Korean
War as a captain in the U.S. Army
Chemical Corp.
Led company to growth
During Mr. Watson's tenure at
the company, Watson expanded
through organic growth and a
number of strategic acquisitions,
including the enrichment business
of Stauffer Chemical Co. (formerly

owned by Merck & Co.), Sterwin
Chemical and Nopa Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Watson also was president
of Polymer Films.
Mr. Watson was a past president
and chairman
of the American
Association of Cereal
Chemists
and
served on the
Food Technical
Regulatory Affairs Committee
of the American
Bakers Association. He was a
member of the Watson
scientific advisory board of the American Institute
of Baking and served on its board of
trustees for many years.
Nutrition a major focus
He was a trustee of the Interna-

tional Nutritional Anemia Consultative Group of the World Health
Organization and was a member of SUSTAIN (Sharing United
States Technology to Aid in the
Improvement of Nutrition) and
of the Council for Responsible
Nutrition.
Mr. Watson is survived by Mary
Reiss Watson, his wife of 50 years,
and five children, John G. Watson
(and his wife Andrea), of Ridgefield,
Conn.; James T. Watson (Brenda), of
Trumbull, Conn.; Mary M. Watson
(John), Parachute, Conn.; Miriam
Ann Monahan (Thomas J.), Richmond, Vt.; and Moira E. Hollums
(Mark), Killingworth, Conn.
A wake was held at M.B. Clark
Funeral Home in Lake Placid, N.Y.,
July 23. Funeral services were held at
Saint Agnes Church in Lake Placid.
A special memorial service was to
be held at Our Lady of Assumption
Church in Fairfield, Conn., Aug. 9 at
9:30 a.m. In lieu of flower, memorials may be sent to the Julian Reiss
Foundation, the Adirondack Conservancy or Food for the Poor. MBN

George K. Baum
Advisors' Nationally
Recognized Food &
Agriculture Practice

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industry through:
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George K. Baum Advisors LAC

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Milling & Baking News

August 12, 2008 / 29

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Milling & Baking News - August 12, 2008

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