Bill W. Waters

SERVICES: Memorial services will be at 1:30 PM Saturday, August 7, 2004 at Mary Ellen & Harvester Church of Christ, with Arvia Willingham, elder of the church, and Dr. Dan Powell, officiating. Private burial will be in Fairview Cemetery under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors.BIOGRAPHY: Billy Wyatt Waters was born to Harvey Wyatt Waters and Edith Perkins Waters on November 23, 1924 in Idalou, Texas. He graduated from Pampa High School in May of 1943 and was inducted into the U. S. Army on June 14, 1943. He studied at New York University as a part of his engineering training in the Army. He was transferred to the 171st Combat Engineer Battalion and served his country in England, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, and Germany in 1944 and 1945. For distinguishing himself by meritorious service in connection with military operations against the enemy in Germany on February 23, 1945, Cpl. Waters was awarded the Bronze Star Medal Citation. During an assault river crossing, Cpl. Waters directed his squad in conveying vitally needed footbridge equipment to the bridge site in connection with the assault crossing of the Roer River. Although under intense enemy mortar and artillery fire, he led his men to the successful completion of their mission. He received the European-African-Middle Eastern Theatre Campaign Medal with three bronze battle stars for the Campaigns of Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. He was honorably discharged from active duty with the rank of Sergeant on January 13, 1946. He married Elaine Carlson on July 20, 1946 in Pampa, and she preceded him in death on June 29, 1979. He later married Sandra Enloe, who survives him, on April 3, 1982. He received a Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Texas at Austin in August of 1949. He was elected President of his freshman law class and Vice-President of his senior class. Mr. Waters had practiced law in Pampa since 1949, retiring just prior to his death. He was elected Gray County Attorney in 1950, serving four years in that office, and was elected District Attorney of the 31st Judicial District in 1954. He served 14 years as District Attorney. In 1965, he was President of the Texas District and County Attorneys' Association. Mr. Waters left public office and began the full time practice of his profession in 1969. In 1978, he was elected as District Director of the State Bar of Texas, representing licensed attorneys within the forty Texas Panhandle counties, and was later a member of the nine person State Bar of Texas Professional Ethics Committee appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas. Mr. Waters was a member of the 18 person committee which drafted the Texas Model Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys. He was Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Mr. Waters had been actively engaged in farming and ranching in Gray and Wheeler Counties. In 1989, Mr. Waters was named Pampa Citizen of the Year following his service to the community as Chairman of the Prison Steering Committee which successfully procured a state prison facility. In 1992, with Mr. Waters again chairing the Steering Committee, Pampa obtained a prison expansion as an intermediate sanction facility. Though neither a Rotarian nor a Mason, he was named a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, and was awarded the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas Community Builder Award. In October of 2000, Mr. Waters was inducted into the Pampa Harvester Hall of Fame. This month, he will be inducted posthumously into the Panhandle Veterans Hall of Honor. Mr. Waters had been a Trustee of the M. K. Brown Foundation since 1964, and had served as its Chairman since 1974. He was also a Trustee and Secretary of the Gray-Pampa Foundation and served on the Boards of the Fairview Cemetery Association, the Pampa Industrial Foundation, the Pampa Youth and Community Center, and the Pampa Economic Development Corporation. He also represented Pampa by appointment of the Pampa City Commission as one of the Directors of the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority. He was a charter member of the Mary Ellen and Harvester Church of Christ where he served as a Bible class teacher and Deacon. Mr. Waters was also preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Elaine, a brother, James Leon Waters, and a sister, Norma Wynell Waters.SURVIVORS: Wife: Sandra Waters of the home; 2 Sons: Leland Wyatt Waters of Pampa, and Steven David Waters of Fort Worth; a stepdaughter: Julianna Enloe Gilbert of Lafayette, Louisiana; 5 Grandsons: Colbert Wyatt Waters of Amarillo, David Daniel Waters of Forgan, Oklahoma, Samuel Jennings Waters and George Armstrong Waters, both of Fort Worth, and Braden Christopher Gilbert of Lafayette, Louisiana; 5 granddaughters: Kellen Elaine Brown of Lewisville, Emily Diane Waters of Azle, Grace Adele Waters of Fort Worth, Katharine Alexis Gilbert, and Madeline Grace Gilbert, both of Lafayette, and by 2 great grandchildren. MEMORIALS: High Plains Children's Home and Family Services, Inc., P.O. Box 7448, Amarillo, Texas 79114-7448, or to a favorite charity.