Henderson County Judge Executive And Facebook Friend, Sandy Lee Watkins, Dies In His Sleep. RIP.

Henderson County Judge-executive Sandy Lee Watkins died in his sleep Friday night while attending a conference in San Diego, Calif., according to Magistrate Hugh McCormick, the judge-executive pro tem.

“He was the best judge we’ve ever had and the best friend you could ever have,” said Sheriff Ed Brady, one of the numerous county officials and public leaders who gathered at McCormick’s house on Alvasia Street soon after the news became known Saturday morning.

Watkins, 58, first ran for judge-executive in 1989, but was beaten by seven votes. He did not contest those results. He ran again and won in 1993 and sailed through re-election campaigns in 1998, 2002 and 2006. He easily won the Democratic primary in May of this year, garnering two-thirds of the vote against two challengers.

Editor's comment: I was just looking at the Judge's Facebook page, and I almost left an "I hope all is well" message, then learned of his passing.