Watters, Paul W.

Paul W. Watters

Paul W. Watters, 97, of Marion, died Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, at Hospice of Mercy, Hallmar. Interment will be at Rock Island National Cemetery, Rock Island, Ill. A celebration of life with family and friends will be held later in December.

Paul was born Oct. 3, 1916, in rural Holstein, Iowa, the son of William and Alma Watters. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1939, with a degree in civil engineering. He was a registered professional engineer. On June 28, 1941, he married Martha E. Pritchard of Atkinson, Ill., at her parents' farm. Paul and Martha spent most of their married years in Cedar Falls and were members of Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Survivors include Martha, his wife of 72 years; son, Brian (Deane) Watters of Cedar Rapids; son, Allan (Cecilia) Watters of Portland, Ore.; brother, Robert (Phyllis) Watters of Woodinville, Wash.; grandchildren, Wesley Watters, Jonathan Watters, Martha Levien, Joel (Rachel) Watters, Mark Levien and Hannah (Greg) White; and great-granddaughter, Lucy Watters.

He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Barbara Levien (on Nov. 2, 1997); and brother, Luverne Watters.

Paul was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II, 1942-1945. He served as communications officer of the Construction Battalion Replacement Depot, Camp Parks, Shoemaker, Calif.

His work as a civil engineer began with the Illinois Central Railroad Bridge Department. He then worked for Peter Kiewit & Sons as concrete paving superintendent for the Omaha district in the late 1940s. Having an entrepreneurial spirit, he formed his own company, Paul Watters Construction Co. His company served as a subcontractor for numerous projects for the Iowa State Highway Commission at a time when the highways through the center of many Iowa cities and towns were expanded from two to four lanes. In his later years he returned to his roots on the land, farming in Grundy County.

Paul was happiest after a long and productive day of work. He taught by example and many young men of the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area learned the value of hard work from him. He especially enjoyed visits by his grandchildren to the farm.

Our family will be forever grateful for his politeness, strong convictions, personal integrity, financial discipline, commitment in marriage and most importantly, his faith in the LORD. He will be greatly missed.

A special note of thanks to the staff of Bickford of Marion and Hospice of Mercy who lovingly cared for Paul in his final months.

Memorials may be given to the Linn County Food Bank and Hospice of Mercy.

Published Dec. 2, 2013 in The Gazette