Obituary of Joan Lydia Watkin

SARATOGA SPRINGS--Joan Watkin, of Saratoga Springs and Boca Raton, FL, artist, animal advocate, and beloved wife of Raymond Watkin, died August 19 at Saratoga Hospital after a brief illness. Joan was born in The Bronx September 24, 1933 to Nathan and Bertha Tubell. She graduated from the New York City High School of Music and Art, a select public school for the most talented young people in the city. She later studied painting at community college on Long Island and Skidmore College. Joan and Ray were married June 16,1963 in New York City following a courtship of several years. Professionally, Joan worked in advertising in New York city, including packaging design for La Rosa Spaghetti products. After moving to the Capital Region with her husband, she worked at McManus-Riley, Woodard Voss, The Saratogian newspaper, and other positions as a commercial artist. She also worked at her family business, Raymond's Bootery, a popular shoe store that was a mainstay of downtown Saratoga Springs in the 1960s into the 1990s. Her special commitment, however, was to animal welfare. She helped organize and found the Saratoga County Animal Welfare League in the 1970s, and until the time of her death was an ardent advocate for both domestic and wild animals. She maintained her fine arts talent and commitment, painting many fine portraits and landscapes in a variety of media throughout her later years. She was a regular participant in arts groups in both Saratoga Springs and Century Village, Boca Raton, the Watkins' winter home. In addition to her beloved husband, the former Mayor of Saratoga Springs, she is survived by a niece, Margot Moodnick Elstein in Tennessee, and a nephew, Bruce Moodnick on Long Island. Services at the Beth Israel Cemetery Chapel, Abbottsford Road, Rotterdam, New York on Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 1:00pm Burial l will follow in the Beth Israel Cemetery , Rotterdam, NY Friends will be received at the Watkin home, 9 Woodland Court, Saratoga Springs, from 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Her many friends are encouraged to make contributions in Joan's memory to The Fund for Animals, www.fundforanimals.org/ (Give a Memorial Gift)