William Waters

WILLIAM LLOYD WATERS, [BILL] passed away on October 12, 2013, less than three weeks after his 72nd birthday. He was born on September 23, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fifth of five children born to Jack and Virgie Waters.

Bill won a scholarship to Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he earned a B.Sc degree in Electrical Engineering in 1966. He thereafter relocated to New York and was employed by Con Edison in its Electrical Engineering Department as an Engineer and a member of its Management work team. While at Con Edison he worked at increasing levels of responsibility and in various other departments within the company. He was one of the first employees to be selected as a Con Edison candidate for the Black Achievers’ Award.

In 1973 Bill founded his own company, and became President of WILLIAM L. WATERS, INC. a Mechanical Contracting firm, with offices located on East 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. His company performed work for governmental agencies, hospitals, schools, and private industry. It was during this period that he began his lifelong interest and service to organizations which encouraged the growth and development of small and minority owned businesses. Along with running his business, he devoted a great deal of his time and resources to these organizations and towards helping others, and was asked to serve in an executive capacity in many of them.

In 1977 he married the former Henrietta Davis whom he had met when they were both employed at Con Edison, thus starting a marriage which deepened in affection and caring over the years and lasted until his death.

He was a past president of the co-op board of the apartment building in which he resided in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. He was affiliated with The Regional Alliance for Small Contractors, the New York New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council, the Association of Minority Enterprises of New York, Inc., among other organizations. Bill was invited to the White House on more than one occasion, met with, and was photographed with President Jimmy Carter at the White House, while he was the incumbent in office there. Bill appeared on national television, was actively engaged and interactive with senators and other political office holders both at the State level in Albany, New York, and the national level in Washington, D.C. Never one to flaunt his achievements or his affiliations, Bill possessed the gift of making people feel good about themselves, of being a friend to, and putting at ease persons from the most humble walks of life and going out of his way to offer help and support. As one of his many admirers remarked, “if I were alone in a strange city I would like to meet Bill”. He was deeply convinced of the power of love and the sharing of it one to another. He will be remembered as a gentleman, a man of integrity, grace, charm, and elegance, and one beloved by those with whom he came into contact.

Bill is survived by his wife Henrietta (Betty), his daughter Sheila, son, Michael, grandchildren ; Michael, Lauren, Rasheen, and Camille, brother; Thomas, brothers-in-law; Kenneth Davis, Dr. Uriel Davis, and Joseph Campbell, sisters-in-law; Josephine Waters, Carmelita Waters, Valerie Davis, and Judith Campbell, 20 nieces and nephews, including in-laws, 21 grand nieces and nephews, 13 great grand nieces and nephews, and many cousins, other relatives and friends too numerous to mention. Bill was predeceased in death by his father, mother, brothers; Vann and Calvin and his sister Jacqueline Waters Baines.