Marilyn Faye Roberson Watts, of Fayetteville, left this earthly life on April 21, 2018, after a brief, but valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. A native of Atlanta, Ga., she was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph Waldo and Tennie Norris Roberson, both of Atlanta, and her husband, Robert Dale Watts of Fayetteville.
Marilyn attended Brown High School in Southwest Atlanta and after graduation, studied business at Georgia State University. After finishing at GSU, she followed in her father’s footsteps and began a lifelong career in residential real estate brokerage and appraisal. In 1981, she became the first woman appointed to the Department of Veterans Affairs appraiser’s panel-Atlanta VA Regional Office. She served in this capacity until her death. Marilyn was very proud of this role because it enabled her to serve our nation’s veterans and realize their dream of homeownership. In 2010, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Marilyn to the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board, the regulatory body that oversees real estate appraisers in Georgia.
In 1983, Marilyn and her husband, Bob, moved to Fayette County and became active members of the community. In 1987, Bob was elected to serve as chairman of the Fayette County Republican Party, but sadly passed away in 1988, during his term in office. The Party elected Marilyn to serve out the remainder of his term and carry on the work that he started. Although she studied business in college, her first love was history, and that led to her passionate interest in politics. Marilyn and Bob were charter campaign workers for Newt Gingrich during his campaigns in the 1970’s. In fact, Marilyn supported Speaker Gingrich in all his campaigns for public office. In 1985, Marilyn, Grace Caldwell, and other women founded the Greater Fayette Republican Women, an organization that is now known as the Fayette County Republican Women and is still in operation 33 years later. At the time of her death, Marilyn was serving as the president of the FCRW. She served at all levels of the Republican Party and was instrumental in many campaigns, ranging from city council to the President of the United States. A highlight of her service to the Republican Party was when she represented Georgia as a delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.
An especially proud achievement of Marilyn’s was her service on the Fayette County Board of Elections and voter registration, where she served from 1998 to 2011 and again from 2012 until 2016. During those approximately 17 years on the Board, she served as chairman for 14 years. Fair, properly run elections were very important to her, and with the help of fellow Board members and the elections office staff, that was what happened during her tenure.
During what little spare time she had in her busy life, Marilyn loved to travel, was an avid reader, and a big animal lover who loved nothing more than a house full of pets.
Marilyn is survived by her son, Lane Watts of Fayetteville; cousins, Ruth Kines of Wheaton, Ill., Lee Greene of Bend, Ore., Vanessa Debs of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Josh Greene, Jason Greene, Anna Greene, all of Portland, Ore., Ian Greene of Bend, Ore., Joan Brigham of Roswell, Ga., other relatives that were very dear to her, as well as many friends. Marilyn would also like you know, being the animal lover that she was, she is also survived by her beloved cats.
The Celebration of Life service for Marilyn Faye Roberson Watts will be held on Saturday, May, 19, 2018 at 2 p.m. at Peachtree City Christian Church, 500 Kedron Drive in Peachtree City. The family will receive friends immediately following the conclusion of the service. Expressions of sympathy may be made in the form of donations in Marilyn’s honor to Peachtree City Christian Church – ptc3.com or to HeroBox, an organization that supports deployed service members and healing veterans – herobox.org
Carl J. Mowell & Son Funeral Home, Peachtree City – www.mowellfuneralhome.com.
