DEAN ALLISON WATERS

WATERS, DEAN ALLISON - 78, of Vonore TN passed away on Tuesday August 12th 2014 at his home surrounded by his family and his close childhood friend after a courageous battle with melanoma cancer. Born in Jersey City, NJ on May 2, 1936, Dean was the youngest son of Dr. Edward and Edna Mae Waters. He grew up in Little Silver New Jersey sailing and racing boats on the Shrewsbury River with friends that became lifelong relationships and often refer to themselves as the Old Point Gang. This group included brothers Ed and Leighton Waters, Dennis Kelly, Pete Germond, Bob Drew and Chris and Carol Ravndal. Dean graduated from Lawrenceville College Preparatory school in NJ and went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University in 1957. It was during his college career that Dean met his bride Jacquelyn at an ice skating party on little Silver Point Road. This was the first of many adventures he would introduce to her. After graduating from Yale, Dean went on to earn a Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering from North Carolina State. Dean then accepted an offer in Oak Ridge, TN to work on Centrifuge Technology which became his career passion. As a result of his work Dean was awarded the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in 1977 at the Whitehouse by President Jimmy Carter for his leadership and inventiveness in the development of gas centrifuge systems. He also attended Harvard University executive business management program and worked for Oak Ridge National Lab in Technology transfer taking applications intended for government use transferring them to commercial application. From 1992-1993 he served as the President of the Oak Ridge Rotary Club. He then worked for USEC as Chief Scientist of the centrifuge project. More importantly he served as a mentor to many of his fellow scientists and engineers. He was a true American Patriot and was actively involved in very important work for our country until very recently. Dean never gave up his passion for sailing. He joined the Concord Yacht Club in Farragut, TN and began to compete in regattas from southern Florida to Canada. He also served as the Commodore at the Concord Yacht Club and qualified for the Olympic trial in the Flying Dutchman Class boat. Sailing was always a family sport to Dean. He instilled this passion into his own children as well as many other young sailors at CYC. Determined to get in shape, Dean took up long distance running and completed several marathons and ran numerous10k races. He was involved in the Oak Ridge Track Club and the Knoxville's Master's Track Club. When his knees could no longer endure all the running, he bought a bike and began cycling all throughout East Tennessee with close friends and fellow cyclists. When Dean wasn't running or riding you would find him reading a book and icing his knees. He was an active member of St Mary's Catholic Church and contributed generously to a number of charities. He enjoyed traveling to places like Greece, Italy, Israel, and Hilton Head, South Carolina with his wife, children and friends. He was a loyal husband, father and friend who was always patient, kind and loving. He spent much of this last year growing in his faith and his relationship with Christ. Dean's Salvation is secure. Dean is survived by his wife of 55 years, Jacquelyn Waters; his daughter Heather Waters Turner; her husband Mark Turner and their daughter Lexi Turner; his son Geoffrey Waters; his wife Deborah; and their sons Ryan and Jack Waters. He was predeceased by his parents Edward and Edna Mae Waters, his first son, Christopher Stuart Waters; his brothers Edward and Leighton Waters; and nephew Tom Waters and niece Edna Mae Waters. Services will be held at St Mary's Catholic Church in Oak Ridge, TN on Monday August 18th. The family will be receiving guests from 10:00 am to 11:00 am at St Mary's church and Mass will be held there at 11:00 am. There will be a reception immediately after the service at Columbus Hall at St Mary's Church. In lieu of flowers the family is asking for donations to be made to the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation foundation/ Fellowship Center Fund: http://www.covenanthealth.com/fellowshipcenter. The family would like to sincerely thank all of our friends, neighbors, Doctors, Nurses and Amedisys Hospice care for all your support and prayers.