for the Connecticut State Department of Education from 1948 to 1965. On September 16, 1965, she joined the faculty of the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, where she taught community and child health for eighteen years and achieved tenure at the rank of associate professor. Retiring on June 1, 1983, she received an honorary appointment as Associate Professor Emerita courtesy of the university's board of trustees in 1984. In addition to her academic duties, Watson served on several statewide commissions. Governor John N. Dempsey appointed her to serve on the State of Connecticut's Committee on the Status of Women and the State Health Coordinating Council. Governor Ella Grasso appointed her to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Commission on Hospitals and Healthcare (on which she was the sole registered nurse), and Blue Ribbon Committee to Investigate the Nursing Home Industry in Connecticut. Watson also served on the board of directors of the Women's League of Hartford for more than ten years, including five years as president. She was a member of the Connecticut State Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau, Phi Lambda Theta, Royal Society of Health, National Organization for Public Health Nursing, American Nurses Association, and American School Health Association. A former editorial board member of the Journal of School Health, Watson published widely in professional journals. She received the Award for Service to School Children of Connecticut (1961), the National Distinguished Service Award (1962), the Citation for Outstanding Achievement (1963), and the Award for Outstanding Achievements in Nursing Education (1973) from various state and national professional associations. Personal life Watson married Harold B. Watson, with whom she had a daughter, Jeannette W. Weldon, and three stepsons: Richard, Everett, and Kenneth Watson. All survived her. Her name was given as Helen Turner Rogers on the University of Connecticut's commencement program of June 1947. Watson died on September 26, 1992, at the age of 75. Funeral services were held at the First Congregational Church of Willimantic. References 1917 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American women 20th-century American women educators African-American academics African-American nurses African-American women academics American nurses American women academics American women nurses Educators from Connecticut Female United States Navy nurses in World War II Military personnel from Hartford, Connecticut Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) Nursing educators People from Augusta, Georgia United States Navy reservists University of Connecticut alumni University of Connecticut faculty Yale University alumni