 |
The Watts family gathers
in their comfortably beautiful home to share tidbits of
their lives and invite others into their greater family
- the Kingdom of God. Front row, l-r: Andrew, 10, mom
Nancy, and 12-year-old Caleb; Back row: 14-year-old
Leah, dad Dennis, and 17-year-old Lindsey.
Dennis and Nancy Watts and their
four children share a life grounded in faith, punctuated
with fun and steeped in love.
Dennis and Nancy Watts make their home off the beaten
path between McKenzie and Henry in a comfortable country
home that reflects homespun beauty inside and out. Their
spacious lawn is adorned with trees Dennis planted
himself, right down to the tiny buckeye tree that,
despite its size, is a prolific producer of the seeds
that, dried to a dark weathered lump, once found their
ways into the pockets of older gentlemen who either
enjoyed the smooth "worry stone" features of the buckeye
or believed them to give relief from rheumatism and
other ills.
The landscape bears the temporary scars of progress as
the Watts expand their home to include a new carport and
utility room, situated at a fashionable angle to the
existing structure. Growth is in full swing inside, as
well, as the four Watts children, in nearly perfect
stair-step fashion, make their ways toward adulthood
amid the delightful atmosphere created by the blend of
diverse personalities reflected in the home.
"There's just an extra big leap between me and you,
right?" 15-year-old Leah asks little brother Caleb in a
voice and smile that reflects her affection for her
12-year-old brother. Andrew, at 10 years old, is
youngest of the crew while 17-year-old Lindsey, already
very much a young woman, works part time at Subway in
McKenzie and will be entering the nursing program at
Jackson State Community College this fall.
The family's roots are firmly entwined in McKenzie's
Calvary Tabernacle Pentecostal Church, where Nancy got
her first glimpse of Dennis at a special youth service
when she was just ten years old, though she did not, at
that time, mark the day as special. Dennis, at 13, was
visiting his grandmother, Ada Patterson, when he
attended the youth rally where he first received the
Holy Ghost. Dennis committed the date - July 19, 1972 -
to memory.
"I had no idea I'd ever come back," says Dennis, who
became more involved in his home church upon returning
to Florida. Dennis, one of four sons - Robert, Kendall
and Gary (who is now deceased) - of Christine Turner and
Bobby Watts, had moved from Mansfield to Bradenton,
Florida with his mother and step-father when he was
about ten years old.
He was 19 during the summer of 1978 when he moved back
to Tennessee after studying drafting for a year at
Manatee Community College. The salutatorian of his high
school class, Dennis had received a Kiwanis scholarship
to assist him in his studies.
The following year, he helped his uncle, Fred Patterson,
build the home mission church in Big Sandy and preached
his first message in Camden. In 1980, he was asked to
assume the position of assistant pastor at the Dresden
Pentecostal Church.
"I just kind of did what I could in church as far as
making myself available," says Dennis. "I wasn't seeking
opportunity; the Lord just kind of opened doors at
different places."
Dennis was 24 years old in 1983 when he began helping
Scott Tolbert, whom he had met through his employment at
Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Company in Gleason, on his
cattle farm.
Nancy, the daughter of Scott and Joyce Tolbert, had
grown up helping out on the family farm in Huntingdon
where they raised cotton, corn and hay in addition to
cattle. With her father working in construction as well
as farming, Nancy, her three sisters (now Peggy Norden,
Susan Hart and Marcia Williams) and brother Donald were
a big part of the farming operation that in time
continued in McKenzie.
She had begun working for the Coca Cola Company in
Jackson in 1978 and had studied accounting in vocational
school after graduating from Southside Christian Academy
in McKenzie. She was 21 years old when she drove out to
visit her parents one day in February 1983.
"Lo and behold, out in the cow pasture there was a man,"
blurts Leah, playfully attempting to help explain the
circumstances of her parents' meeting.
"In the dining room," her mother corrects her, laughing.
"We got married on December 30 and we've just been us
ever since," smiles Dennis, to which Nancy adds quickly,
"There's a lot of more "us"es now!"
The year after their meeting, in February 1984, Dennis
became assistant pastor at Calvary Tabernacle alongside
Pastor Stanley Medlin who remained pastor of the church
for 33 years until his retirement in October last year.
Nancy was already a dynamic personality in the church
before the couple's marriage, playing the piano and
singing among many other activities. She and Dennis soon
began singing as a trio with bass guitar player Teresa
Cary, a relationship that continues to this day.
Nancy devoted her time to motherhood from the time
Lindsey was born until Andrew started school, after
which she assumed leadership of Calvary Tabernacle's
Calvary Christian Academy for three years until it
closed after 19 years in May 2001.
She then began working at Camden United Christian
Academy where the children also attend school, and where
one of Andrew's favorite activities is basketball.
There, both Lindsey and Leah have been members of the
school volleyball team. Each of the children has early
aspirations to excel: Leah plans to follow a career in
nursing like her big sister while Caleb hopes to become
a veterinarian and Andrew wants to be a lawyer.
The children also enjoy participating in church
activities like youth missions undertaken in partnership
with the church in Waverly, including special services
and a sectional choir that brings children together from
different districts to create a large, 35 to 40
children's choir.
Nancy relates that Leah has been upset recently at the
prospect of going to school for the first time without
Lindsey.
"There will be no one to make me behave," jokes Leah,
the most outspoken of the Watts children, who seems to
be more used to the idea of her growing independence.
She announces her plans to drive during the family's
next bi-annual vacation to Florida after her 16th
birthday, an idea that makes the rest of the family
decide she will be going alone.
The family's last visit, which coincided with Lindsey's
birthday, included trips to Busch Gardens, Disneyworld
and Sea World among other adventures.
The family's continuing fascination with Florida is due
in large part to the strength of Dennis' bonds with his
former pastor, the late Blaine Drake and his wife Edna.
The couple had two daughters, the youngest of whom was
ten years older than Dennis.
"He didn't have a son so they kind of all adopted me,"
explains Dennis. The "adoption" was so heartfelt that
not only did the elder couple refer to him as son, but
their daughters, Sharon and Connie, called him brother
as well and Brother Drake served as a mentor to Dennis,
taking him on various conferences and other church
functions.
When Nancy gave birth to their first son, she and Dennis
named him Caleb Drake in honor of the relationship.
Andrew points out he has a special name too, having been
named Andrew Tolbert to memorialize his mother's side of
the family.
In addition to the Watts' trips to Florida, the Drakes,
too, would visit the family in Tennessee in their motor
home from time to time. Beside, Dennis says, explaining
the family's fascination with Florida, "we don't know
what we'll do in the future; we just always kind of let
the Lord direct us. Some day we may retire and go back
to Florida."
While Bradenton is situated on the coast just below
Clearwater, "about ten miles off the Gulf and about 50
miles below Tampa," the interior of the state is much
like other states, he says, with lots of farming taking
place.
Dennis continued working with Kentucky-Tennessee Clay
for 17 years and eight months, until February 2001 when
another door was opened and he began working for the
U.S. Postal Service.
"I took the postal test in Florida when I was 19 before
moving back here," Dennis says, describing the length of
his efforts to become employed with the U.S. Postal
Service. He took the test several more time over the
years, in Jackson, Union City, Paris or "wherever there
was an opening at the time."
"The Lord eventually just opened up a door," shares
Dennis, who works out of the Paris office, sometimes
also delivering mail in McKenzie and Martin.
Dennis and Nancy are uncertain what the future holds for
them, however, Dennis muses, "We've seen a lot of
changes; changes in people," he explains.
"I think we're living in what the Bible says are the
last days; I think the coming of the Lord is possible,"
he continues. "Possibly soon," Nancy agrees.
In the meantime, the couple looks forward to assisting
Calvary Tabernacle's new pastor, Daniel Grisham, who
hails from Jackson.
"We just enjoy being a part of the work of the greatest
kingdom there is - the Kingdom of God," Dennis shares,
"We just want to see more people come to know the Lord." |
|
