Dick Waters

Dick Waters

November 13, 1944 – December 16, 2022

With a name like Dick Waters, you really need to have a strong sense of humor, as well as a strong self-identity. Richard George “Dick” Waters of Brenham, TX, was blessed with both. He’d heard – and enjoyed – all the jokes about his name over the years, and if you were struggling to come up with one, he could supply a few you never would have thought of.

Dick, 78, died peacefully in his sleep on December 16, due to complications following heart surgery. Those close to him will remember him as a private, but very friendly man with a warm, generous, and loving nature. If loved ones were feeling down or doubting themselves, Dick had a gift for lifting them up. He took great pleasure in spoiling his children, grandchildren, and other loved ones.

Dick was determined to live life to the fullest and enjoy all it had to offer. He especially enjoyed fast cars and motorcycles. He bought his first motorcycle as a teenager and was still riding regularly right up to the end, both on his own and as a member of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club, Independence Trail Chapter. (His “handle” in the club was “Truck,” and his wife, Dollie, was “Trailer.”)

Dick was born in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, the next-to-youngest of nine children of George and Blanche Waters, and his self-professed mom’s favorite. Early on, he showed signs of the independent, non-conforming spirit that would characterize him as a man. On his first day of Catholic school, as he would often recall, the nun teaching his first-grade class insisted that he answer to his given name, Richard. He refused – his family only ever called him Dick, and he didn’t recognize the name Richard. As a consequence, he spent the rest of the school day sitting by himself under a tree in the courtyard, where the teacher had sent him and promptly forgotten him. After Dick’s father found him there and had a strong talking-to with the teacher, no one ever again tried to call him anything but Dick.

Dick’s strong will and rambunctious ways led to him being “disinvited” to return to school when he was 15. After that, he worked various jobs, including paper boy, milkman, and ice salesman. He eventually married Joan Moloney, with whom he had two children, Kim and Sean.

In 1962, Dick joined the U.S. Navy, where he proudly served for 21 years, retiring in 1983. It was in the Navy that Dick met his second wife and “soul mate,” his beloved Dollie Twiggs of Brenham, whom Dick credited with making him a better man and with whom he shared many adventures. When Dollie left the Navy several years after Dick, they retired to Brenham to be near her family. She preceded him in death in 2009.

Dick is survived by daughter, Kim Waters; son, M. Sean Waters; granddaughters Ciara Mueller, Samantha Pennington, and Crystal Waters; grandson Nevan Waters; and great-grandchildren, Stella Pennington and Lucas Mueller, all from Indiana. He is also survived by father-in-law, Keith Twiggs, and sister-in-law, Oma Mills, of Brenham; sister-in-law Donna Mann and husband, Bob, of Kingwood, TX; and numerous nieces and nephews. He leaves behind many dear friends, including his ladyfriend, Patsy Philipp, and honorary granddaughter, Destiny Sewell, both of Hempstead, TX.