Oma Waites Watley
Oma Waites Watley, 71, of Winnie, died Sunday, October 31, 2021. She was born May 19, 1950, in Winnie, to Jeanne Maxine Haley Crosby and Gerald Avon Crosby, Sr.
Oma started her career as a office manager for Temple Inland. Later, she and her husband, John, owned their own businesses for over thirty years. They owned John and Oma Automatic Transmissions in Silsbee and Winnie as well as Bigfoot Transmissions in Evadale.
Oma enjoyed collecting coins and ships with sails. She also enjoyed reading, listening to music, especially 60’s to the 80’s rock, and watching crime/dramas on television. She was known to be quick witted and to have a sharp mind. Soduko was one of her favorite past times and she could play a mean hand of cards.
Oma was a wonderful wife and mother, and she cherished the memories she made with her family.
Survivors include her husband, John Watley; children, Jeannie Martinez and husband, Pascual, all of Winnie and Blair Waites and wife, Susanna Dela Cruz, of Anahuac; stepsons, Shawn Watley, of Beaumont and Schuyler Watley, of Fort Worth; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Gerald Avon Crosby, Jr.
A gathering of Mrs. Watley’s family and friends will begin at 12:00 p.m., with her funeral service at 2:00 p.m., Friday, November 5, 2021, at Broussard’s, 134 West Buccaneer Drive, Winnie. Her interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery, Winnie.
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Gathering of Family and Friends
Broussard’s Mortuary Winnie
- 134, Buccaneer Drive, Winnie, Texas, 77665,
- November 5, 2021
- 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Funeral Service
Broussard’s Mortuary Winnie
- 134, Buccaneer Drive, Winnie, Texas, 77665,
- November 5, 2021
- 2:00 pm
Interment
Broussard’s Mortuary Winnie
- 134, Buccaneer Drive, Winnie, Texas, 77665,
Love her with all my heart
Soon after I moved to Beaumont Oma drove me in her white jeep to show me the Lavaca-Sara-Eleventh Street corridor, and the way to Parkdale Mall. That’s about all I needed to know to get around. Only one example of Oma’s generosity that I experienced.
She was gifted at repartee, and she relished it. Oma loved words and wordplay. Anyone fortunate enough to witness Oma and John exchange pun-laden sentences with each other in rapid-fire sequence gladly buckled in for a wild ride. Oma and John bonded over their shared wit.
And then there was Oma’s cackling laughter . . .
her laugh . . .
her laugh.
I got know Oma when I came back to Beaumont after being in the Air Force. She and John (my eldest brother) let me live with them in Silsbee. Jeannie and Blaire were teenagers, then.
Over the next 40 years, they always welcomed me to stay in their home when I came to visit from Idaho to see my Texas relatives. Oma and John were a delightful, funny, joyful couple, sharing their lives and stories and extended family with everyone they knew. Oma’s laughter was infectious – I can’t “unhear it”; that’s the way I remember her.
My prayers and love are with y’all. Love y’all.
Our love and prayers to all of you in your time of sorrow. Love, Suzie and Kenny Ortego