THOMAS J. WATERS

1924 - 2014

Waters, Thomas J. May 19, 1924 – Sept. 11, 2014 A son of Ansonia, Conn., an industrial suburb of New Haven, Tom Waters began studies at Yale in 1941 on a scholarship for graduates of Ansonia High School. After freshman year, he enlisted in the Army and served as a military policeman in Paris, then returned to Yale on the GI Bill, where he became part of a cohort of students from non-elite backgrounds who transformed that institution. He began teaching at independent schools after graduating in 1948, including stints at the Allen-Stevenson School in New York City and Chicago Latin School. In Chicago he met art teacher Ronny Sturges. They married in 1962 and moved to St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, where he was eadmaster of Antilles School for one year, followed by headmasterships at the Lawrence School on Long Island and at Derby Academy in Hingham, Mass., from 1968 to 1987. He retired to Princeton, Mass., on the slopes of Mount Wachusett where he and his family had spent summers since 1973, and then to Charlottesville, Va., in 2004. As a teacher and headmaster he was known for his patient wisdom and leadership and his ability to give to others while respecting the recipient's freedom to use the gift as he or she chose. His concern for teachers, students, parents, friends, and family will be his legacy. During his retirement, he enjoyed life fully and unselfishly, particularly walking, reading, baseball, and puns. He adopted the Boston Red Sox as his team when the baseball Giants left New York in 1958. He also served as president of the trustees and as chair of the building committee of Goodnow Memorial Library in Princeton, overseeing the extensive renovations completed in 2001. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Ronny Waters, by Tom Waters, Hilary Callahan, and Daniel Watahan of the Bronx, N.Y., and by Nick Waters, Jane Cornelius, and Leo Waters of Charlottesville. A memorial service will be held September 30 at the First Congregational Church of Princeton, Mass., with reception to follow. Gifts may be made to Princeton Public Library, 2 Town Hall Dr., Princeton MA 01541, or to Derby Academy, 56 Burditt Ave., Hingham MA 02043.