Virgil M Watts

Longtime forklift dealer Virgil M. Watts, 95, was remembered in a memorial service and a celebration-of-life gathering in Lodi on 30 November.

Relatives and friends recounted how he was fun loving, played golf avidly, enjoyed cards and games of chance, backed the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and often wore a happy smile. He died on 22 November.

"I personally found Virgil always had something positive to share whenever we spoke," says Brett Wood, president of Toyota Material Handling USA Inc in Irvine, California. "He will be remembered as a caring and kind gentleman."

Watts was born in Huntley, Nebraska as the ninth in a family of 13 children. With track and field teams, he set records in the high jump event while competing for Huntley High School and the Nebraska State Teachers College in Kearney. During World War II, he served as a US Marine Corps drill instructor, was stationed on the island of Guam and was part of the first invasion in the bloody and fierce battle for the island of Iwo Jima.

Watts relocated from Nebraska to California prior to the war and returned there afterwards selling material handling equipment for the Farmhand and Clark lines. In 1967 at age 52, he established Watts Equipment Co, initially representing the Towmotor brand and, in early 1970, adding the Toyota line. He remained active in the business into his 80s and was sensitive about sales and financial results until the end. His son, Brock, owns and is president of the Manteca, California dealership representing Toyota and Crown forklifts, IPC Eagle scrubbers, eTec Minit-Chargers, Starlift parts and Lift Truck Stuff products, and serving markets in the Central Valley of California, principally in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

Also surviving are a sister and two grandchildren. Watts and his first wife, Dorothy, were married for 44 years until her death in 1991. His second wife, Idelle, died in early 2010.

The memorial service was held at the First United Methodist Church.