Page 56 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2025 - Online Magazine

For the
Benefit
of Others
Rodney Watson
by Ted Wilson
odney Watson is Plainview’s
answer to the North Pole’s
Rmost famous citizen. And one
of the area’s premier artists.
Rodney is one of four children
born to Elmer and Joyce Watson.
His siblings are Richard, Dawn
McMillan, and Lenard (deceased.)
Elmer was a mechanic who co-
owned Watson Brothers’ Garage in
Plainview. Brother Richard owned
and operated the original Field
House Restaurant.
Rodney graduated from Plainview
High School in 1970. He applied to
Texas Tech but at age 17, he thought
maybe he wasn’t quite ready for
college, so he worked maintenance
for the Highway Department. In
1973 Rodney married Lana Grisham
and, in 1986, began attending
Wayland Baptist College while
working at Hale County State Bank.
Ten years later he earned a degree
in Business Administration and
eventually completed a twenty-year
career at the bank. From 2004 to
2018, Rodney was Director of the
Llano Estacado and Jimmy Dean
Museums on the Wayland campus.
56 Lubbock Senior Link
Rodney loved drawing cowboys and
horses as a youngster. In church,
he would gather as many bulletins
as he could, filling them with
sketches of horses, cowboys, and
western motifs. His first art teacher Hale County State Bank was famous
was encouraging, but the next one for celebrating Christmas, and that
was into abstract art and must not always meant a real-life Santa.
have liked cowboys, so Rodney In 1995, Rodney was “forced” to
shrugged off his gift for a time. But assume the important role. (The
one day, prior to his job at the bank, force used by then-CEO David
he was working at Ken’s the Men Williams included two Rod Stewart
Shop and waited on local western concert tickets.) So, Rodney had his
artist Tom Warren. Mr. Warren, a mom create a Santa suit, which he
member of the Texas Cowboy Artist wore for over twenty years.
Association, was an encouraging
mentor, and Rodney spent some In year one, Santa Rodney
time traveling with him, reviving debuted at the bank. In year two,
and honing his own craft. he appeared at the Plainview
RSVP volunteer organization.
Rodney and Lana’s two children Subsequent years saw him booked
(Carey and Terra) required Rodney all over the community, and even
to forego his art temporarily to in Lubbock. Over the last ten years,
work full-time. Lana’s health issues Santa Rodney has been booked
took a toll on the family, and she solid for half of November and
succumbed to that battle in 2014 all of December. He is now in his
after almost 40 years of marriage. 30th year portraying Santa and is
But then in 2016, as Rodney states one of the over 500 members of Lone
it, “God moved Seliece Savage (a Star Santas. They are a fellowship of
nurse, now retired, with two sons of people who want to bless children
her own) into the role of wife.” He (especially those who may miss out
is grateful to have been blessed with on gifts due to natural disasters) by
two such sweet loves in his life. collecting and distributing toys.