"Between grief and nothing, I will take grief." William Faulkner
It has been a quandary, whether close friendship with the family makes a remembrance easier or more difficult to compose. I believe I have my answer. This column - a tribute to the late Clara Sue Barnette Watts Driftmier - wrote itself. I grew up in Franklinton with the Watts children, Sarah, John, and Chris, spending oodles of time at their lovely two-story abode --- that of Judge France Wiley Watts, III, and wife Clara Sue. It didn't hurt that our parents were close friends. An only child, I was under strict constraints. But my folks never blinked an eye when I darted out, calling, "I'm going to Sarah's." And often, my parents were having a drink or dinner at the Watts home on Williams. Street Sue and "Budge," they were to Momma and Daddy.
The daughter of Judge Chris Barnette (1905-1982) and wife Emily Sue Barnette (1908-2000) of Caddo Parish, Clara Sue had an early introduction to the law, a prelude of life to come. While at Louisiana State University, she made the acquaintance of France Wiley Watts, III, the son of prominent lawyer France Wiley Watts, Jr. (1915-1971) and wife Elizabeth Ott Watts (1916-2002) of Franklinton. He was the sibling of Richard, Charles, Susan (Richardson), and Pamela (Rudnicki). It is worth noting that law was in the Watts' genes. France "Budge" and his two brothers Richard and Charles, all graduated from LSU Law School.
But love before the law. Ms. Clara Sue and Mr. Budge tied the knot in 1962, and they were blessed with their first child, son John Wiley, in February of 1964. After graduation from law school, that same year, and admission to the Louisiana Bar, Mr. Budge clerked for Judge Albert Tate, a legend on the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal. The young couple soon moved to Shreveport where Mr. Budge practiced with Hargrove, Guyton, VanHook and Ramey. And sweet Sarah Elizabeth, their only daughter, was born in October of 1965. They returned, with their young family, to Budge's native Franklinton in 1966 where he practiced with Watts and Watts and as a sole practitioner. And their youngest son Chris Barnette was born at Riverside Hospital in February of 1970.
Notably, Mr. Budge honorably served as attorney for Washington Bank and Trust Company in 1966, a position his father held for many years. Magee Ott, France's maternal grandfather, had been the first chairman of the Washington Bank Board of Directors. So not surprisingly, Mr. Budge was a member of the Washington Bank Board of Directors by 1981.
All the while supporting her husband in these endeavors, Ms. Clara Sue became part of the fabric of Franklinton, raising her family and contributing to the community. Perhaps many, like me, remember her valuable work at Centenary Methodist Church where the Wattses were devout members. She also was an educator, teaching business education at Bowling Green in the early 1980s.
Mr. Budge formed the practice of Watts and Cassidy, before running for the bench in 1983, becoming a District Court Judge for the 22nd Judicial District. Clara Sue -- as a judge's daughter -- was well prepared for life as a judge's wife. Reelected to multiple terms, Judge Watts served until he succumbed in 1997 at the young age of fifty-eight. Ms. Clara Sue lamented her loss. They, married thirty-five years at that time, had plans to travel.
But the young widow, Ms. Clara Sue, went on with life, later wedding R. H. Driftmier, Jr., and residing in Birmingham, Alabama, until the couple moved to Baton Rouge. Together, they shared a love of family. After his death in 2018, Ms. Clara Sue remained at home in Baton Rouge where I visited with her and her beloved daughter, my friend Sarah, between then and now. I was just there, at her beautiful Baton Rouge residence, on Friday the 12th of April.
Reminiscing, we reveled in the past. There was the trip Ms. Clara Sue and I took together, home from Texas. Visiting her parents in Plain Dealing, Louisiana, she generously offered to drive west to retrieve me from Kilgore College where I was with the Bowling Green Buccanettes. My parents had planned a summer vacation that same week and wanted me home early for departure. Somehow, I was granted dispensation from the rigors of drill team camp; frankly, they were probably glad to see me go. So, away I sped with Ms. Clara Sue, just the two of us, in her paneled station wagon. I am not sure that I've ever been as happy to see anyone as I was to see her. Ms. Clara Sue drove us south toward home - a long but joyous ride. On a separate occasion in high school, she and Sarah were with me, in my mother's kitchen, when I learned to bake my first cake. They taught me how to make a pound cake. It was Emily Dickinson who wrote, "That it will never come again is what makes life sweet."
I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Ms. Clara Sue's parents, Judge Chris and Sue Barnette. Good as gold, they were most kind. In my youth, I visited their beautiful home, a retreat, in Plain Dealing. It was magical, and they were affable. Ms. Clara Sue got her gracious nature honest. I realized even then that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Succumbing April 17, Ms. Clara Sue left her family to cherish her memory: son Capt. (USN, RET) John (Mary) Watts; daughter Sarah (David) Driftmier; son Chris (Melanie) Watts; grandchildren Miles (Emily) Watts, Patrick (Kay-Lynn) Watts, Leighanna (Bryce) Driftmier Comstock, Virginia (Capt. (USM) Kyle) Driftmier Pido, Andrew (Kristen) Watts, Alexander (Abigail) Watts, and Katherine Watts; and great-grandchildren Pippa and William Comstock, Logan, Lydia and Wilder Pido, Wyatt Watts, and Archer Watts; sister Jane Barnette Hancock; sisters-in-law Pamela Watts Rudnicki and Paula E. Watts; and cousin Dorothy C. Barnette. Friends of the Watts family grieve with them. I am lucky to be in that number. We were blessed to have known Clara Sue Barnette Watts Driftmier.
