John Gerard Waters

John Gerard Waters, Jr. Age 81, of Freedom, NH and Melbourne Beach, FL, and formerly of Lexington and Brighton, died Saturday, October 31 following a brief illness, with his wife and children at his side. Beloved husband of 59 years of Jean (Decareau) Waters. Son of the late John G. Waters Sr. and Alice (Ford) Waters. Devoted father of Nancy Waters and her husband, Benjamin Lieberman, of Acton; John L. Waters and his wife, Suzanne (Shine), of Halifax, VT; and Beth Waters and her husband, Vikram Rao, of Maynard. Cherished grandfather of Amanda Waters of Allston, Katherine Waters of Maynard, Indira Rao of Somerville, Anjali Rao of Maynard, and Isabel and Samuel Lieberman of Acton. Cherished former father-in-law of Hannah Soparker of Maynard. Dear brother of Judith Fitzpatrick of Northbridge and of the late Martha O'Connor, Elaine Burke, Nancy LaPlante, Michael Waters, and James Waters. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and long-cherished friends.

John (Johnny) worked as a designer at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratories in Cambridge for more than 30 years, served in the United States Coast Guard reserve, and was as an active member of the Lexington Minutemen for more than 25 years. He loved to travel – from the back roads of the American South to European capitals, but he especially loved national parks, the mountains of New Hampshire, the Atlantic Coast of Florida, and the coasts of Maine and Nova Scotia. He loved to cook and to dine out, and to talk about cooking and dining out, good Irish whiskey and a properly made Mai Tai. He successfully took on several major home improvement projects, and enjoyed prowling the hardware aisles. He loved nature, birds, and animals, especially dogs and bears. He enjoyed reading history, discussing politics, sharing trivia, bowling, rooting for the Patriots and Red Sox, sly humor, and telling tales – some of which verged on the tall – and just hanging out with his friends and family, especially his grandchildren, whom he doted on.

Visitation will be private. A proper memorial service and the appropriately raucous life celebration he wanted will take place when all his friends and relatives can be together safely at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in John's name may be made to the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, PO Box 173, 23 Science Center Road, Holderness, NH 03245 (nhnature.org).