Ernest Monroe Watkins, Jr., passed away peacefully on April 15, 2026, at his home on Edisto Island. Born in Panama City, Florida, in 1942 and raised in Tallahassee, Ernest graduated from the Darlington Boys School in Rome, Georgia, and went on to graduate from Vanderbilt University with a degree in civil engineering. He served his country in the army as a lieutenant for eighteen months before working for E.M. Watkins Company with his father. At E.M. Watkins, Ernest rose early and stayed late serving as the project manager for multimillion dollar projects such as the Proctor and Gamble plant in Huntsville, Alabama and a grassroots cement plant in Brandford, Florida. Ernest was the hardest worker this
world has ever seen, working ten plus hour days with E.M. Watkins. Then, when the workday was over, Ernest was constructing one of the three homes he built for his family or building miles of fences on his beloved horse farm with the methodical precision characteristic of the engineer that he was. His mind was constantly focused on the next build or renovation, and he was not one to sit still. He was also involved in multiple organizations in Tallahassee including the Exchange Club, the Tiger Bay Club, and the Board of the Boy Scouts. He was active in his church and read the Bible multiple times.

There has and never will be another Ernest Watkins. He was unapologetically himself and was always going to find a way to do what he wanted to do, even when his health began failing. His determination was unmatched. Ernest was also the consummate gentleman and avid outdoorsman. His competitive nature propelled him to engage and excel in tennis, foxhunting, duck hunting, white water canoeing, snow skiing, water skiing, running, scuba diving, and polo to name a few. In his 40s, Ernest could be found at full gallop on his prized horse, Woody, chasing a fox, his heart pounding from the exhilaration of the cry of the hounds. In his 50s, he was playing high goal polo with men half his age. Not one moment of life was wasted.

Ernest married Katherine (Kitty) Cowles at the old age of 29. Ernest and Kitty have two children, Ernest Monroe (Buck) Watkins, III (Jean Marie) and Mary Katherine Erwin (Spence). Ernest is survived by six grandchildren: Harley Erwin (18), Monroe Watkins (16), Teagan Erwin (16), Henry Erwin (14), Kit Watkins (10), and Jones Watkins (7). His grandchildren will miss his many stories about shooting 'gaters, duck hunting, horseback riding, and sailing. Ernest is also survived by his sister, Dorothy Watkins Davis, and her husband, Frank, who was Ernest's dear friend and fraternity brother at Vanderbilt. Ernest was predeceased by his parents, Dorothy and Ernest Monroe (Buck) Watkins, Sr.; his sister, Francis Watkins Fogarty; and his brother, Archibald Watkins.

Once Ernest retired, he spent his summers in Vermont, for a number of years, and then in Montana to be closer to his daughter and her family. He traveled to all fifty states and claimed that he had done everything he ever wanted to do and gone everywhere he ever wanted to go. Ernest fell in love with Edisto Island, reminding him of his family's cabin on the Aucilla River, and he lived in Edisto for the past two years with his son and his family.

Ernest's family would like to thank Roper Hospice and an angel named Grace Steed for providing wonderful care to Ernest. He was blessed to have his wife, sister, daughter, son, and daughter-in-law by his side in his final days.

The family will have memorial services at Pisgah Methodist Church in Tallahassee, Florida and in Edisto Island, South Carolina.