Hilary Watson, wife of KC golf legend Tom Watson, dies after battle with cancer
Hilary Watson, wife of worldwide golf legend and native Kansas Citian Tom Watson, died Wednesday after a lengthy battle with cancer, according to a tweet shared by the PGA Champions Tour social media account and report from Golfweek.
She was 63.
Hilary Watson had undergone surgery and other treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., as far back as May 2018, but she’d been battling pancreatic cancer, which has the highest mortality rate of all forms of the disease.
Tom Watson, 70, has long worked to raise awareness of and money for the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS.
A year and half ago, at an annual golf tournament he champions for ALS, Watson had expressed optimism that his wife might eventually overcome her cancer. She was being treated by one of the world’s foremost experts in this form of cancer, Dr. Michael Kendrick.
“This is different than ALS: I feel optimistic, I feel very optimistic,” Watson told Star columnist Vahe Gregorian at the 2018 Joe McGuff ALS Golf Classic in Kansas City.
Tom and Hilary Watson had been married since 1999.
In an interview with The Star last year, Hilary Watson called the care given to her by her husband and a cadre of friends and family “unbelievable,” adding that they all “sure make it a lot easier to go through.”
“I’m just here to help her,” a humbled but hopeful Tom Watson, winner of so many majors in the world of golf, said at the time.
As news spread on Thanksgiving Thursday of Hilary’s passing, an outpouring of sympathy and support soon followed.
Details regarding possible services for Hilary Watson were not available at press time.
This story was originally published November 28, 2019 at 4:23 PM.