Francis Carens Watt

Francis Carens Watt

January 1, 1937 – February 19, 2025

Frank was born January 1, 1937, in Malden, MA to Nigel and Mary (Carens) Watt. He had three younger siblings: Joanne, John and James. During WWII, the family followed Nigel to various army bases, living in Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri before returning to Massachusetts in 1945. Shortly after that, the family settled on the ‘farm’ in East Sullivan, NH. In 1960, he married Joan Forssen “Jody” and had two daughters, Sue and Jean. He was predeceased by his wife of 62 years and his sister. He is survived by brothers, John and James; daughters, Sue (Todd) Freyer and Jean (Mark) Brady; granddaughters, Catherine Brady and Nichole (Andy) Vasquez; two great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In NH, Frank attended the local one-room schoolhouse, where eventually he was promoted directly from 6^th to 8^th grade. Frank was involved from a young age in 4-H, raising chickens and sheep. As a sophomore in 1952, his team took 2^nd place in the Boston Poultry Show “Northeast Egg Grading”, competing against teams from ten other states. In his senior year, 1954, he took first place in the NH 4-H sheep shearing competition. Frank was also active in the Junior Rotarians; Science, Biology, and Physics Clubs; and worked as an audio-visual engineer while in high school in Keene.

After graduation, Frank enrolled in the Civil Engineering program at the University of New Hampshire, transferring to the University of Maryland in 1959. During one summer, he worked for the state of NH as a surveyor for the highway department. During the summers of 1956 and 1958 he worked on the St. Lawrence Seaway lock and canal system. In the summer of 1957, he made the first of many trips to Greenland. Initially working with Metcalf & Eddy, by 1962 he worked for Kiewit. Between 1957 and 1962 he spent a total of 30 months at Thule AFB, Greenland, which is 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Kiewit was building runways resistant to the heave and sinking of the wild arctic temperature swings. During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Frank’s work involved building the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System on P Mountain, which could detect Soviet rocket launches. One humorous story he told is that the only entertainment at the time was radio, and the call letters of the Air Force radio station were “KOLD”.

He worked for Kiewit for 34 years, holding various positions including engineering, field supervision and management positions. When he retired, he was Senior Engineer for Proposal Preparation and Bid Submission. In 1963, the family moved to Levittown, PA. In 1965, the family was transferred to Luquillo, Puerto Rico where Frank worked at Roosevelt Roads Naval Base. In 1967, the family moved to Omaha for the first time. Frank was the lead jobsite engineer on the Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant. From 1970-1976, Frank worked from Cleveland and was involved in bidding work on the east coast and northeast Canada. In October 1976, he and the family returned to Omaha for good. He worked out of the home office of Kiewit Engineering on the 14^th floor of Kiewit Plaza for the remainder of his time with the company. His primary duty was sponsoring proposals and bids on large, unusual and high-risk projects. Over the years, he acquired the nickname of “Mr. Bridge” for his successful bid proposals on many large bridge projects across the US.  Some well-known projects he was involved with were Boston’s Big Dig, Baltimore’s Fort McHenry Tunnel, the “Chunnel” under the English Channel, and North Sea Oil platforms.

For years, any family vacation would center around somewhere Frank was working, either on a bid or a job. Every roll of film developed over the years had construction or site pictures on the front or back ends. If there was no job to visit, most summers were spent up in New Hampshire with family. Perhaps due to his early military travels as a child, or the frequent travel involved in his career, one of Frank’s favorite activities was travel. He and Jody would take multiple tours to various parts of Europe, often in the company of other Kiewit retirees. They also went to Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and extensively traveled within the states. There were annual reunions of the Kiewit retirees, monthly dinners and many other activities to keep busy. In 1987, he took the family back to Luquillo for a family vacation. In 1994, he accompanied his friend Laddie on a trip to the Northern Marianas, for the 50th reunion of soldiers who fought in the Battle of Tinian. While not involved in the military, Frank had a passion for history and his friend needed a companion to attend. In 2001, Frank and five other former Thule workers were invited by the US Air Force to the 50^th Anniversary celebration. One of Frank’s other passions was “collecting ball parks”. He had a mission to visit every major-league ballpark in the country. Many of the parks he collected were in pursuit of following his beloved Red Sox. And of course, there were those two grandchildren that he adored. When Catherine was born he decided they needed to have a pool, and for those of you who knew Jody, that was all she needed to jump on the planning board and make it happen. Over the years they hosted so many family gatherings at the pool, as well as pool and dinner parties with their family, church and Kiewit and the grandkids’ school friends. An avid gardener, one year he trained the pumpkin vines to grow up the oak tree and told the girls his tree grew pumpkins. We will miss his dry wit. That ability to keep a straight face while telling you the most boldfaced and outrageous fibs; his beautiful tenor singing voice, and his rich deep laugh.

Frank was a member of the Golden K Kiwanis club, and served a term as its President in 2009. He served as a mentor and advisor to the Burke High School Key club for many years. He was active in leadership at Presbyterian Church of the Cross, serving as an usher, deacon and elder throughout their membership of over 40 years. After retirement, Frank founded the Watt Foundation, which served the needs of the special needs community in Nebraska and Iowa. Through the Watt Foundation’s commitment to Omaha Public Schools Early Education Program, he received an OPS A+ award. Frank was a very generous man who never sought recognition for his good works. He always wanted to remain anonymous, but he was deeply concerned with the unfairness of the world, and sought to set things right whenever it was within his power.

At every family gathering over the years he would signal it was time to leave by reciting:  “The time has come, the Walrus said…”  by Lewis Carol:

VISITATION:  Friday, February 28, 2025, from 5:00-7:00PM at West Center Chapel, 7805 West Center Road, Omaha.

FUNERAL SERVICE:  Saturday, March 1, 2025, 10:00AM at Presbyterian Church of the Cross, 1517 S. 114th St., Omaha.

INTERMENT:  Evergreen Cemetery

Memorials are suggested to Presbyterian Church of the Cross.

To view a live broadcast of the Service, please visit www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “Live Cast” button at the top of the home page.

Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler, West Center Chapel, 7805 West Center Road, Omaha, Ne 68124. (402)-391-3900. www.heafeyheafey.com