August 31, 1998
Newton woman dies in accident near Ness City
by Chris Strunk
Newton Kansan
Vera Watchous has experienced heartache. She lost her husband, Robert Watchous, the day after Christmas in 1993. He died in his sleep.
She lost one of her two daughters in a 1990 traffic accident in front of the family's business in southeast Harvey County. Lyn Watchous, 34, died in that accident after the vehicle she was driving struck a vehicle driven by her sister, Ann Watchous, near their parents' home.
Friday, Watchous received the painful news that Ann Watchous died in another traffic accident.
"I'm kind of hanging in there," Vera Watchous said this morning. "I feel like I've given everything. I don't have anymore to give."
Ann Watchous, 43, who lived near her mother in rural Newton, died Friday north of Ness City.
At 6:38 p.m., the 1998 Cadillac she was driving north on K-283 struck a farm implement pulled in the southbound lane by a 1980 Versatile tractor driven by a 42-year-old man from Ness City. The driver of the tractor, Kevin Frank, was not hurt in the accident, a Kansas Highway Patrol dispatcher said.
Watchous was pronounced dead on the scene.
Watchous owned the Legacy Oil Co., a production company located in the Harvey Building in Newton.
Watchous' father, Robert, owned Palomino Petroleum, which was located on Southeast 84th Street.
"Ann was very intelligent," Vera Watchous said. "She had a lot of talents. She was artistic, studious, a deep thinker. She was like her dad, a little complex. She knew how to do a lot of things."
Watchous went to high school in Wichita. She never finished college.
"She was a geologist," Vera Watchous said. "But she didn't have a degree. Her dad trained her."
On Friday, Ann Watchous' nephew, Klee, Lyn Watchous' son, turned 24. Vera Watchous said Klee and his wife live near Vera Watchous' home and are expecting their first child in about three weeks.
She said Ann Watchous was engaged to Tal Tammen, a chef who lives in Bazine.
"They talked about getting married," Vera Watchous said.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Yentruoc Lodge, a lodge owned by the family at 5222 S.E. 84th Street.
"We're having the funeral outside," Vera Watchous said. "I know that's a little unconventional. But Annie was unconventional."
