Geraldine Bates Watson, age 87 of Carthage, N.C., died March 1 at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, N.C. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Born in Covington, she was a daughter of the late Thomas Milton Bates and Annie Mae Jones Bates. She was a graduate of Covington High School and the Business School of Atlanta. She also attended Georgia State College for Women, (now Georgia College & State University). After finishing school she married and moved to Carthage, N.C., with her husband the late Vernon Watson, who died in 1987. She was a homemaker and also worked as a secretary with her husband at United Insurance Agency in Carthage. She was preceded in death by a sister Eloise B. Harris.

She is survived by a son, Charles "Chuck" Watson of Carthage; sisters Annie Laura Day of Covington, Betty Jo Marks of Mansfield, Tommie Ray of Oxford; several nieces and nephews. Condolences may be made at www.PinesFunerals.com.