Epilogue: Bruce Watters, a jewel in downtown St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG — At age 85 Bruce Watters was still working part time at his family's jewelry store on Beach Drive up until about two weeks before he died this month. Like the store, Bruce Watters Jewelers, the man himself was a longtime fixture in downtown St. Petersburg."When I was born he started working for his dad Bruce Watters and never stopped," said son Jim Watters, who now runs the family business that started in 1905. "He has always been positive and honest. It was just a great pleasure being able to work with my dad every day."There was a time when meeting with Bruce Watters was a rite of passage for engagements, weddings and anniversaries."I think people trusted him. You felt comfortable with him. He was never the type to do a hard sale," said John Erickson, a friend and fellow merchant. He and wife, Karen, owned the Straw Goat on Beach Drive a few doors up from Bruce Watters Jewelers for 32 years. "He often walked from his store in the 200 block of Beach Drive to the Yacht Club club for lunch and back. He was always an elegant presence, dressed in a suit and tie," said Karen Erickson. "He was not overly gregarious, he was understated, very lovely."They credited him with being a catalyst to forming the Beach Drive Merchants' Association, which led to shared advertising and the legendary Sunrise Sale.Mr. Watters was also described as a catalyst at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club by Commodore Richard Winning.He served as the club's commodore in 1969 and continued providing his support and advice until he died. "He was good at moving the club forward but also keeping up traditions," Winning said. "He certainly let everybody know what he thought. I really enjoyed his humor, his kind words and his spiritual direction. He did the blessing of the fleet every year."Jeweler by day, Mr. Watters was a faith healer and part-time preacher in his free time. He and his second wife, Patricia, traveled for almost 10 years with televangelist/faith healer Benny Hinn. Mr. Watters was in charge of the wheelchair section, and bringing a few lucky people to come on stage with Hinn. He once told a Times reporter it wasn't easy because people often jumped out of their wheelchairs even before the service started.When the couple gave up the weekend travel, they hosted nondenominational prayer meetings in their St. Petersburg home. Once in 2000, instead of praying for individuals' personal needs, Mr. Watters hosted a special prayer meeting to end a drought that had plagued Tampa Bay for weeks.The group asked God for 2 inches of rain within 24 hours. It rained 4 inches in just under 48."I just know that God answers prayer," Mr. Watters said afterward. Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Editor's note — This article was changed to reflect the following correction: Richard Winning is commodore of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. His name was misspelled in an article in Friday's St. Pete Times section.

Epilogue: Bruce Watters, a jewel in downtown St. Petersburg

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