DR. WIRTER PRIEST WATKINS, M.D. was born Aug. 20,
1917 in Lott, TX, to Wirter Thomas Watkins and
Georgia Ann Priest Watkins.
He graduated from Baylor University and Baylor
University Medical School. A major in the U.S.
Army Medical Corps, he served as a field surgeon
in Europe during WW II. After the war he and
his wife, Dorothy Louise Wilson Watkins, moved
to Eastland in 1946 and to Ranger, TX in 1948.
He joined the Ranger Clinic & practiced medicine
in Ranger from 1948 to 1985.
Dr. Watkins was loved and respected by many people.
He was more than a doctor to many of them; he was
a teacher, a counselor, a leader and a friend. He
was known to devote all his energies to his many
patients and to worthy causes.
He was involved in many civic activities and always
wanted to do as much as possible for the town. He
served as a member and president of the Eastland
County Medical Society, the Ranger School Board,
and the Board of Directors of Ranger Savings. He
was also a member of the Board of Regents of Ranger
Junior College, a director of Olney Savings, and a
member of the Lion’s Club and First Baptist Church.
He served as team doctor for Ranger High School and
Ranger Junior College.
In 1960 Dr. Watkins was named Ranger’s Citizen of the
Year. The Ranger Chamber of Commerce awarded him the
Golden Deeds Award in 1985 and the City of Ranger
honored him on his 69th birthday with the “W.P. Watkins
Day” in 1986. What mattered most to him though, was
the daily care of the many persons around him, young
and old, who depended on him as their doctor.
At the time of his death, Dr. Watkins was survived by
his four children: Jill Watkins Criswell (RHS-1962),
Jan Watkins Wilson (RHS-1965), James Wilson Watkins
(RHS-1968), and William W. Watkins (RHS-1969) and
11 grandchildren.