When the Rev. Bill Watkins retired from Good Shepherd Community Center in 1998, his successor was warned he had big shoes to fill.

“I said, ‘I’ll never fill those shoes,’” the Rev. Tommy Miller said Monday. “I’ll put those shoes on the shelf and look at them for inspiration.”

Rev. Watkins, a founder of the innovative and broad-based outreach programs in Vicksburg, died Sunday, May 23, 2010, at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland. He was 82.

He leaves his wife of nearly 55 years, Meta Dixon Watkins, who was his partner in ministry as well as life, said his elder daughter, who is also a Methodist minister.

“Besides Good Shepherd, his legacy to us will always be the importance of love of family,” said the Rev. Vicki Watkins Landrum. “My sister and I really got to experience what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God on earth.”

Though he suffered from Parkinson’s Disease and other health problems, Rev. Watkins never wavered in his ministry, whether in his church or the community, said his pastor, the Rev. Chris Young of Hawkins United Methodist Church.

“If there was something going on at church, he was there, ” Rev. Young said. “And this past Thanksgiving, people up at Good Shepherd were packing meals for about 3,000 people. Even though he couldn’t do anything, he was there. It meant a lot to Rev. Watkins to see what he had started so many years ago and see the people it has touched.”

Good Shepherd, named one of America’s “1,000 Points of Light” in 1990 by President George Bush, got its start in September 1986 as a small tutoring program for foster children in Warren County, operating out of Wesley United Methodist Church.

Rev. Watkins, his wife and other community leaders built it into a high-impact, multi-dimensional ministry, encompassing a full-time day care, after-school tutoring, GED-adult study programs, a free medical clinic for 2,500 patient visits annually and center for a number of community groups to use six days a week.

“What drove him was his deep love for Jesus Christ,” Rev. Young said. “He had a passion for people and the needs of others that grew directly out of his faith.”

Rev. Watkins was born July 16, 1927, in Florence. He graduated from Moss Point High School and served in the Navy in both World War II and the Korean Conflict. After returning from Korea, Rev. Watkins graduated from Millsaps College, then earned a master of divinity degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

His first assignment by the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church was to pastor the small Star, Braxton and Greenfield congregations.

He also served at Jackson Street United Methodist in Brookhaven; Newton U.M.C. in Newton; and Wesley U.M.C. in Jackson, before being named superintendent of the Vicksburg-West Jackson District.

It was during that period that Rev. Watkins founded Good Shepherd, and also went on to pastor Wesley, then an African-American church, in Vicksburg.

“He was trying to help us all be better Christians and better folks,” said Oren Bailess, former Warren County Chancery Clerk and board member at Good Shepherd.

“Rev. Watkins had a vision,” Miller said. “He saw the need to be doing for the least and the lost in our community. He believed we as church members needed to do this — no one else.”

His wife directed the center’s preschool, and after his retirement, the two always attended church, Bible studies, Sunday school classes and social functions at Hawkins.

“People in the congregation always remarked on the deep love between him and his wife,” Young said. “It was a powerful witness. They served as a great example of faithfulness to each other and to Jesus Christ.”

Rev. Watkins enjoyed woodworking and was an accomplished cabinetmaker. He and Meta were also rabid Atlanta Braves fans, and were able to attend some games before health problems made travel difficult, his daughter said.

In addition to his wife and Landrum and her husband, Joe, of Canton, Rev. Watkins is survived by his younger daughter, Alice Watkins Rein, and her husband, Joey, and their two sons, Joseph, 13, and Richard, 10, of Ridgeland.

Services will be Friday at 11 a.m. at Hawkins United Methodist, with visitation Thursday from 5 to 7 at Riles Funeral Home and at 10 a.m. Friday at the church.

Burial will be Friday at 3 p.m. at Ellison United Methodist Church Cemetery in Yazoo County.