Jonathan Watson

JONATHAN ROSS WATSON

Mount Pleasant

It is with great sadness that the family of Jonathan Ross Watson announces his passing on Feb. 18, 2020, at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif., at the age of 36 years. Surrounded by his closest family and friends, Jonathan died peacefully due to complications associated with Influenza B and Strep A.

Jonathan was born March 29, 1983, in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, to parents, Virgil "Allen" Watson and Jessica Watson. He graduated from Mount Pleasant Community High School in 2001. Jonathan attended the University of Iowa and graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. Shortly after graduating, Jonathan moved to Southern California and within two weeks landed a job at Meggitt Defense Systems working in defense aerospace, kicking off his career in the aerospace industry. In 2007, Jonathan met the love of his life, Megan, they were married in the fall of 2009. Jonathan and Megan enjoyed traveling the world together before deciding to settle down. They created a beautiful family, bringing three more Watson boys into the world: Landon Jonathan (2012), Maddox James (2013), and Wyatt Lee (2016).

More than anything Jonathan loved his family. He was the epitome of a family man. Jonathan worked hard to ensure that his wife and children had the best life possible which included affording his wife the ability to stay home with their three children. In 2016, Jonathan left defense and moved to the commercial side of aerospace working for Hartwell Corp. Travel was one of Jonathan's many joys, his defense and commercial aerospace positions allowed him the ability to travel monthly both domestically and internationally. Jonathan regularly brought back unique gifts for each of his boys from every country he traveled, filling their bedroom shelves with traditional symbolic keepsakes from other cultures. To further his career, Jonathan enrolled in Pepperdine University's MBA Program in the fall of 2016. Jonathan often spent lunch breaks and numerous long evenings after tucking his boys into bed, studying and doing schoolwork.

In 2017 Jonathan and Megan purchased their first home in Orange County, Calif.. Jonathan happily spent weekends improving and remodeling his family's new space, taking great pride in making their house a home. In December of 2019, Jonathan walked across the stage at Pepperdine University wearing his gown and hood, earning his MBA with Summa Cum Laude honors as his three young boys and family proudly watched from the audience.

In addition to being a devoted father and passionate husband, Jonathan was also an avid Iowa Hawkeye football fan. Jonathan enjoyed weekends spending his free time watching college football with his boys, coaching youth soccer, golfing with friends or barbequing in his backyard while playing yard games. Jonathan's presence is GREATLY missed both personally and professionally.

Jonathan was preceded in death by his father, Allen Watson.

He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 10 years and best friend, Megan Watson; his precious children, Landon (8), Maddox (7) and Wyatt (4); his mother, Jessica Watson; his brother, Kristopher (Kristin) Watson, and their children, Kaden, Karter, Kaylee and Kody; his brothers, Romeo Arrivas and Tim Arrivas; and his sister, Kathryn Roa. Jonathan will also be fondly remembered by countless aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws and friends.