S. Merle Rev. Waters

Sylvan Merle Waters was born May 22, 1921 in San Antonio, Texas. He was the sixth and youngest child of Frederick Andrew Waters and Marie Antoinette Thomasson. Merle was able to walk to Crockett Elementary, and to the old Prospect Hill Methodist Church where his grandfather, Thomas Jerome Thomasson, was a Local Preacher. He later attended Washington Irving Junior High, and then Thomas Jefferson High School, class of 1938. He worked his way through night school at St. Mary's University, reading meters for the Public Service Company. Merle received his B.A. in History in 1944.

He married the one and only love of his life, Mildred Marie Atkins, on June 23, 1944 at Prospect Hill (now St. John's UMC in San Antonio). Rev. Theo Cox, Merle's mentor and father in the ministry, officiated. The couple immediately moved to Dallas where Merle received his Master of Theology from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Merle and Marie met because Merle's sister worked with Marie at the Bell Telephone Company. One day a rainstorm prompted Marie to come home with Merle's sister, where she was told that her brother would be home soon, and that he would be able to drive her home. After Merle returned home, he announced, "That's the girl I'm going to marry!" Marie is the daughter of Augustus Floyd Atkins, Sr. and Lottie Mildred Pollard of Robstown, Texas.

Merle and Marie were under Episcopal appointment for over fifty-three years in the Methodist Itinerancy. Churches served were Hutchins-Wilmer; Smiley-Westhoff; Smithville-West Point; New Braunfels; St. Mark's San Antonio; St. John's, Austin; First Church, San Angelo; Bay City; Bethany, Houston; Atlanta, Texas and St. Andrew's, San Antonio, where he was named Pastor Emeritus. In San Antonio, he was on the committee that established Morningside Manor Retirement Home, and in 1964 was one of the first volunteer chaplains at the new Methodist Hospital. In the Southwest Texas Conference, now Rio Conference, he served as chair of the Board of Evangelism; Board of Discipleship; Town and Country Commission; secretary of the Board of Missions; chair of Student Week at San Antonio College; and chair of the San Angelo District Council on Ministries.

He was proud of his family tree, "the log from which he was hewn." Notable among his ancestors were James Walker, one of Stephen F. Austin's 300 Original Colonists in Texas, James Garrard, the second governor of Kentucky, John Edwards, one of the first senators from Kentucky, several Revolutionary War patriots, as well as numerous preachers.

He was preceded in death by his son, Mark Atkins Waters and wife Kathy Susan Webb, and by his siblings and their spouses: Vivian Laureame Waters and Ralph Smith Foster; Crystal Pearl Waters and Delmer Harvey Motley; Frederick Burton Waters and Elizabeth Rucker Lancaster; William Sterling Waters and Margaret Adelsperger; and Marie Antoinette Waters and Murray William Nevels.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Marie, of 71 years; their children: Carolyn Ruth Waters and husband George Morgan Hamilton III; Stephen Merle Waters; Thomas Douglas Waters, and his wife Claudia Boone Billings. Grandchildren are Lt. Col. Mark Alan Waters, and his wife Christy Marie Espenship, George Morgan Hamilton IV, Dr. Emily Hamilton, and her husband William Rosellini, James Billings Waters, and Cameron Boone Waters. There are five great grandchildren: Garrett Alan Waters, Courtney Marie Waters, Mason William Rosellini, Ava Noelle Rosellini, Sloane Marie Rosellini, and numerous beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews.

In the year 2000, the S. Merle and Marie A. Waters Endowment was established at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. This scholarship fund benefits anyone pursuing a calling to the clergy, regardless of race, gender, or denomination. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to P.O. Box 75013, Dallas, Texas 75275-0133 or the S. Merle Waters Memorial Fund at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church.

Visitation will be at Porter Loring Mortuary, 1101 McCullough Ave. on Sunday, July 5, from 12:15 until 2:30 PM. Funeral services will be held Monday, July 6, 2015 at 1:00 PM at St. Andrew's UMC, 722 Robinhood Place, San Antonio, Texas 78209. Rev. Dr. Brad DeHaven, Rev. Jon Lowry, and Rev. Rick Waters officiating. Interment to follow immediately at Mission Burial Park South