Maribel Watkins was well known around Harrison City for her dedication to family, community and church.
As a unit manager and demonstrator for Stanley Home Products, Mrs. Watkins was welcomed into households in four Pittsburgh-area counties.
Maribel Estelle Yockey Watkins, of Delmont, formerly of Harrison City and Murrysville, all in Westmoreland County, died Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005, in UPMC Presbyterian hospital, Oakland. She was 92.
"The women of the households in which she demonstrated her Stanley Home Products never forgot her," said her son, Thomas Watkins. "Mom considered her customers as her friends, and she kept in touch with them."
Her son also recalled her mother's commitment to the Zion Lutheran Church in Harrison City, where for years she played the piano and taught Sunday school. "Zion Lutheran was my mother's church from the time my grandparents moved there in 1922."
Born in Ruffsdale, Westmoreland County, and raised in Harrison City, Mrs. Watkins was one of four children of Arthur and Luella Bryan Yockey. Her father was a carpenter.
After her graduation from Jeannette High School in 1931, she was employed by the Westmoreland Glass Co. until 1939, when she met and married Roy M. Watkins, who operated a grocery store on Main Street in Harrison City.
"Mom helped Dad in the store up until World War II, when he closed the store and went to work at Westinghouse Airbrake Co. in Wilmerding," said her son.
"My mother was not only a caring mother, but a good cook who enjoyed hosting family reunions. As kids, we looked forward to those reunions, when we got to see other members of our family."
Thomas Watkins said his mother began her career with Stanley Home Products in 1953, and continued to represent the company in some capacity until the early 1990s, while also being employed at the Penn Area Library.
"My mother began working at the library in 1980 and retired in 1998. She really enjoyed the years she spent at the library.
"I think the key to my mother's success at whatever she attempted was her positive personality. She made everyone she met feel like she's known them all of their lives."
Thomas Watkins recalled his mother's involvement with the American Legion in Claridge, Westmoreland County, when her husband, a veteran of World War I, was the post commander.
"Prior to my father's death in 1970, Mom also became involved in all of the post's activities, including helping Dad organize the Memorial Day parades and numerous other post activities," he said.
Mrs. Watkins is survived by her son, Thomas R. Watkins, of Delmont; a stepdaughter, Dorothy Soles, of Penn Township; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a sister, Frances Lang, of Penn Township.
In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by a brother, Delbert Yockey; sister, Eleanor Sillaman; stepson, Robert C. Watkins, who was killed in World War II; and a son-in-law, C. Edgar Soles.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday in the James E. Lindsay Funeral Home Inc., 3343 Route 130, Harrison City.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in Zion Lutheran Church with the Rev. Robert J. Marks officiating. Burial will follow in Woodlawn Cemetery, Penn Township.
