County court, legal community honor Ted Watts in special session

Jan. 28—One of the county's attorneys who succumbed to complications from COVID-19 two years ago was honored Friday during a special session of Crawford County Court of Common Pleas.

Theodore H. Watts was recognized not only for his work as an attorney, but also for his role in many civic-related activities. Watts, 75, passed away Oct. 31, 2020, at Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie.

More than 50 people — including more than two dozen area lawyers plus other colleagues, family, friends and clients, turned out for Friday's special session. In October 2022, the court appointed six members of the Crawford County Bar Association to prepare a memorial resolution honoring Watts to be read into the record.

"Ted had a big heart, compassion for the little guy," said Alan Pepicelli, who practiced law with Watts for more than 40 years. "He was intolerant of any kind of bigotry or prejudice."

Pepicelli said he admired Watts and looked up to him, calling him "a true Renaissance man."

"He was all over the place," Pepicelli said. "He loved theater and acting, competitive biking and running, football and art, fine food and wine, flying hot air balloons and life in general. He was always willing to try new things."

Those new things included Watts trying out a unicycle in his office — which led to a loud crash and staff then running to Watts' office.

Christopher Ferry, who as a young lawyer began practicing with Watts in the early 1990. Ferry said he was amazed by Watts' knowledge in many aspects of the law — from municipal to school to environmental.

"It was an absolute honor to be able to work and practice law with him," Ferry said.

Crawford County Judge Mark Stevens, who knew Watts since he was a child and grew up to practice law with Watts, said he got hooked on the law when he job-shadowed Watts in high school. Stevens' late mother, Joyce, had been a paralegal for Watts for many years.

"As I thought about my future, Ted was there as a steady, stable, constant influence," Stevens said. "Someone who could give me valuable insight from a career perspective."

"He was always a dependable mentor," Stevens said, with Watts watching and constructively critiquing the cases Stevens presented as a young lawyer.

"He was always able at the end to say those opportunities for improvement in a way that wasn't devastating, wasn't frustrating, that you felt like you had underachieved," Stevens said. "You always felt after those conversations you were better than when you started. He was never too busy to help."

Watts' community commitment ranged from running with the French Creek Roadrunners Club that he formed; fund-raising and restoration of the Liberty II speedboat from the bottom of Conneaut Lake; leading the restoration of the Academy Theatre as well as performing many productions there and at Meadville Community Theatre; and serving on Meadville's Bicentennial Committee in 1988.

Watts role with the city's bicentennial established the Thurston Classic hot air balloon rally and Watts becoming a balloon pilot himself in the 1990s.

His legal work in the 1980s and 1990s with the Meadville Redevelopment Authority helped to repurpose the former Avtex plant into what is now the Crawford Business Park. The work shaped state and national policies on the safe reclamation of contaminated industrial sites.

Watts also served as the attorney for Meadville Housing Authority and Meadville Area Water Authority, and he served as Crawford County's solicitor and as the attorney for PENNCREST School District.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.