Legendary Pamlico fisherman remembered for his hard work

Merritt O. Watson Sr. spent the majority of his 96 years as a commercial fisherman, a trade where hard work is commonplace.

Watson, who died Sunday, is remembered as being a cut above in his work ethic.

"He was one of the workingist men I've ever seen," said Sherrill Styron, longtime owner of Garland Fulcher Seafood Co. in Oriental.

Watson, a native of Lowland in Pamlico County, owned and fished boats ranging from small sailboats to 100-foot trawlers during 80-plus years at sea. Styron recalled when Watson used to fish off the coast of Massachusetts.

"They'd come to the dock and, just as soon as he could get unloaded and get supplies back on the boat - fuel and ice - they were going right back out," he said.

Watson rotated crewmen from his port in Lowland to keep at it.

 "That boat never stayed at the dock," Styron said. "Weather never stopped him. Everybody else would be coming in because of the weather and he was going out."

Watson was honored at the Pamlico County Heritage Center last July, where he had donated his last boat - the Watson II - to the museum for its planned outdoor Heritage Village.

His son, Merritt Jr., said then that his father's life centered around his home in Lowland when he wasn't away fishing. The senior Watson's fishing grounds stretched from Florida to Canada.

Sean McKeon, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association in New Bern, said the passing of Watson and other fishermen his age represented the end of an era.

"Having men like that represent our industry for so many years was a credit to the industry," McKeon said. "He was a gentleman, someone that when you think of the classic commercial fisherman, you think of people like Mr. Merritt and you feel grateful that you had a chance to meet him."

Watson was one of the first Pamlico County commercial fishermen to venture outside Pamlico Sound to fish in the Atlantic Ocean.

For a time as a young man he drove a produce truck, and for a decade in the 1960s he went inland to manage a poultry plant in Rose Hill. His love of home remained strong and he brought his wife, Mary Jane, and the children from Duplin County to Lowland each Sunday for church.

In a 2008 interview with the Sun Journal, Watson Sr. said his favorite day of the week was Sunday - not to rest, but rather to attend church.

His funeral is 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Lowland Church of Christ.