James "Charlie" Watkins

James "Charlie" Watkins, 72 of Munson Street in New Haven, passed away on May 24, 2013, at CT Hospice in Branford, Conn. He was born on August 6, 1940 in Little Rock, Ark. to the late Squire Watkins and Louise (Compton) Watkins. He was a loving and devoted husband for 50 years to Mary (Keyes) Watkins. James graduated from Horace Mann High School in 1958 in Little Rock, Ark. He later began his career as a Correctional Officer. James loved gardening and carpentry and was an avid sports fan with NY Yankees, NY Giants, NY Knicks, and UCONN as his favorite teams. He was a great family man who put family first and was home every night. He was known to his children as "the best father in the world". Besides his wife, Mary, he leaves to cherish his memories, sons, James Charles (Arvis) Watkins Jr. of Hamden, Dwayne Keith Watkins Sr. of New Haven; brother, Herbert (Gwendolyn) Watkins of Castle Pine North, Colo.; sisters, Dorothy Gibson of Sacramento, Calif., Siesel Jones, Vickie Watkins, both of Little Rock, Ark., Rose (Eddie) Reed of Plano, Texas; grandson, Dwayne Keith Watkins Jr.; mother-in-law, Flora (James) Keyes; sister-in-law, Janice (Victor) Gomez, Diane (Bobby) Spencer, Sharon Smith, Bettye Keyes, Ruth Sutton. He was predeceased by, brothers, Squire Watkins, Robert Watkins. A Celebration of his life will take place on Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 11 a.m. at Howard K. Hill Funeral Services, 1287 Chapel St. New Haven, Conn. with calling hours on Thursday from 10-11 a.m. at the Funeral Home. Interment will be held at Evergreen Cemetery. To leave a message of comfort for the Watkins family, please visit www.hkhfuneralservices.com.