John F. Waters

John F. Waters, 81, known to some as “Bud”, died on Tuesday July 31 at Cape Cod Hospital after a short illness.

He was born in Somerville, MA on October 27, 1930, son of the late Herbert and Magdalena (Robinson). He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Barbara (Seaver).

John was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Bachelor of Science in 1959.

In 1949, John worked at the mess hall of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA for $18 a week and thus began his love affair with the village of Woods Hole and a fascination with the sea and its animals.

During the Korean conflict, John served in the Army from 1952-1954 as Ordinance Demolition Specialist and achieved the rank of Sergeant while in Korea.

Back in Woods Hole in the summer of 1957, John met his future wife, Barbara, a Smith College student working as an MBL chambermaid. They got married in 1959. Until children began arriving, John had a beloved St. Bernard named Moses and for a time was the vice president of the New England St. Bernard club with Ernie Boch as president.

John career began in 1960 as staff writer for the Cape Cod Standard Times followed by six years of teaching fifth grade at the Mullen Hall School in Falmouth. During his teachings years, John wrote and sold articles and stories for children’s magazines and decided to make writing his life’s work. In 1967, John co-wrote his first book with Barbara, entitled Saltwater Aquariums and went on to become a successful writer with over 30 of his books published such as Watching Whales, A Jellyfish is not a Fish, and Neighborhood Puddle. Two of John’s books were Junior Literary Guild selections and his book “Night Raiders of the Cape” was selected as part of the Accelerated Reader program for elementary schools across the nation.

After living five years in Northeast Harbor, Maine, John, Barbara and their four children moved back to Cape Cod and settled in Chatham, MA where John continued writing and gave author talks at elementary schools around Cape Cod. He was also a featured speaker at the Cape Cod Writers Conference in Craigville, MA.

In 1987-1989 John had a regular column called ‘Cape Images’ in Cape Cod Compass magazine. In retirement, John wrote and published three eBooks for the Kindle from his Outer Cape Mysteries series.

John was proud of his children's sports accomplishments, always attending his sons’ basketball games and coaching the cross country team for Chatham High School from 1977 to 1980. He also started the golf program and helped form the Chatham Schools Sports Association that raised funds to purchase uniforms and jackets for Chatham Sports teams.

On most mornings John enjoyed coffee with his friends at Old Harbor Café in Chatham. He was a great storyteller. He was also an avid New England sports fan and closely followed the New England Patriots.

John is survived by his wife Barbara, his four children Herbert “Hap”, Sandy Waters Hanson and husband Dan, Lane and his partner Brenda, Duane “Rocky”, his daughter in law Anne, and his eight grandchildren, Cameron, Devonney, Samantha, Catherine, Max, Charlotte, August and Piper.

A Memorial service for John will take place on August 11 at 3 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Chatham.

In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to The Chatham Fire Association, P.O. Box 751, Chatham.