On March 4, Stan Watson, 64, co-founder of Renew Life and Vital Planet, died at his home in Palm Harbor, FL.
Born on Aug. 20, 1961 in Mount Airy, NC, Watson grew up in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains where “the values of hard work and community were instilled in him early on.” He attended North Carolina State University and worked within Inc. 500 companies, becoming a businessman and entrepreneur.
Watson took everything and poured it into building natural supplement company Renew Life alongside his wife Brenda Watson. The couple also co-founded Vital Planet, a supplement brand known for its biotics and gut heath products. Watson stood side-by-side with his wife for more than three decades while dedicating his life to “help and heal through the power of nature.”
“Stan was my partner in every sense of the word. In life and in work. For more than three decades we were side by side with one shared mission: helping people find better health through the power of nature,” Brenda Watson wrote on social media. “Everything we built together, from Renew Life to Vital Planet, my books, PBS specials, clinics, and the education we’ve shared over the years, really came from that shared purpose. People often saw me on stage or on television, but Stan was always right there beside me making the work possible. He never wanted the spotlight, but he was a powerful force behind the scenes. He drove the business, the products, and so much of what we accomplished.”
According to a memorial, Watson was a curious and adventurous man. He was an avid reader and a devoted collector of classic literature, particularly the works of Ernest Hemingway. He was also a licensed pilot and a passionate scuba diver. He was a lifelong fan of Jimmy Buffett and loved the “adventure and intrigue” of Ian Fleming’s James Bond series of novels.
“Stan was the quiet strength behind so much of what Vital Planet is today. His fingerprints are on every product, every relationship and every life touched by our company. He lives on in the thousands of products on shelves and in the hands of people finding better health because of his work. He lives on most beautifully through Brenda, the love of his life, who carries that same mission forward with the same grace and conviction she is known for industry wide,” Vital Planet wrote in a statement.
A funeral service will be held on March 29 at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor, FL, and a celebration of life will be held at Bon Appétit in Dunedin, FL.
For more information, visit www.renewlife.com and www.vitalplanet.com.
