Raymond Oliver Waters MD

Raymond Oliver Waters, MD (Col. USAF retired), Rome, GA, passed away peacefully at home Thursday, June 2, at the age of 96. He was the youngest and last surviving of 6 children born to George and Bessie (Hodges) Waters in Sylvania, Georgia.

Dr. Waters attended North Georgia College from 1939 to 1941. He then enlisted in the Army Air Corp prior to Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he flew and later became a flight instructor for B-24’s and B-29’s. He left the service in 1947 to begin his medical training at the Medical College of Georgia, which he followed with an ENT residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

Upon completion of his residency, Dr. Waters rejoined the Air Force as a flight surgeon. His next station was the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, where he worked with the Mercury Astronaut program. He was transferred to Germany to be chief of ENT for Europe, and then was appointed to be Deputy Commander of the hospitals at MacDill AFB, Tampa, Florida and Maxwell AFB in Montgomery.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1971, he moved to Rome, Georgia, and began private practice as an ENT physician. He retired from medical practice in 1986. While in Rome, Dr. Waters served on the Board of and was Chief of Staff at Redmond Regional Hospital.

He is survived by his beloved wife of almost 75 years Mary (Aultman); his four children – Kristy Pierce, Robin Devlin, Ray Junior (Allison), and Lori McKinstry (John); seven grandchildren – Karli, Geoff, Patrick, Mary Brett, Joshua, Bryan, and Sean; and three great grandchildren – Oliver, Ella, and Wyatt. Dr. Waters was predeceased by two sons-in-law and many dear friends and family members. One of the last things he said was “I’ve had a good life.”

Services for Dr. Waters were held Sunday, June 5th, at First Baptist Church in Rome. Visitation was from 1:00 to 2:00 PM with a memorial service that followed in the main sanctuary. Interment was at Floyd Memory Gardens with military honors provided by the U. S. Air Force.

Daniel’s Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements for Dr. Waters.