Richard Lyle Waters

Richard Lyle Waters, 87, passed away peacefully on February 20, 2022, with his wife and two children by his side, in Reston, VA. Born in Tulsa, OK, he and his parents, Dr. Eugene A. Waters and Mildred Thornburg Waters, moved to Columbus, OH, shortly after he was born. They later moved to New York, where Richard’s father earned his doctorate from Columbia University. When Richard was 6 years old, he and his parents moved to Knoxville, TN. There, his father became Dean of the Graduate School and one of the Vice Presidents of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) in the 1950’s. This move to Knoxville shaped the rest of Richard's life, both personally and professionally.

Richard graduated from Bearden High School in Knoxville, TN in 1953. He then attended UTK, where he earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Education in 1957. While at UTK, Richard met his college sweetheart, Elizabeth Kay Miller, and they married on June 14, 1959 in Charlotte, TN - Kay’s hometown.

One of Richard’s favorite college memories is being one of the first student “handlers” of Smokey I, the school’s beloved bluetick coonhound, and being a member of the Adawayhi Pep Club that worked on selecting Smokey as the mascot for UTK in the 1950’s. Richard would fondly tell the story of being tangled up with Smokey’s leash in the 1957 Sugar Bowl game vs. the Baylor Bears when Smokey got a “little too close” to the bear. Another favorite tale was kidnapping the stuffed wildcat out of the trophy case at The University of Kentucky after Smokey was kidnapped by some UK students. The mascots were exchanged at the next football game. He also was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and completed the ROTC program at UTK. After college, Richard was in the United States Air Force in San Antonio, TX (First Lieutenant).

After he and Kay married in 1959, they lived in Knoxville, where Richard was Principal of Alice Bell Elementary School. In the early 1960’s, he was the Assistant Superintendent of Kingsport schools in Kingsport, TN. In 1966, Richard received his Master’s of Science from UTK. Later that year, he became the Director of Financial Aid for UTK, until 1974. During his time at UTK, he was also the President of the Tennessee Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (TASFAA) from 1969-1970. He was also the President of the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SASFAA) from 1972-1973. He and Kay and their two children, Mike and Kathy, had many fun experiences while living on Terrace Avenue near the UTK campus. They enjoyed waterskiing and having picnics on their boat on the TVA lakes.

Richard truly loved watching sports throughout his life; and he enjoyed following the Vols, especially UT football and basketball. He was friends with UT Basketball Coach Ray Mears and Assistant Coach Stu Aberdeen during his tenure at UTK. One favorite experience was when the Waters family attended the Aloha Classic basketball tournament in 1973 in Hawaii, and traveled with the team.

In 1974, Richard and his family moved to Piscataway, NJ, where Richard worked as the Director of Financial Aid for Rutgers University. Richard then worked for Basic Grants in Washington, D.C., which helped to provide post-secondary study for financially disadvantaged students. He continued his work as the Executive Director of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). In 1978, he and his family moved to Damascus, MD. He then became the Director of Financial Aid for Howard Community College in Columbia, MD, and he was also the school’s assistant coach of the Ironhorse Express basketball team.

After many years in education and financial aid, Richard joined his wife, Kay, as a Realtor in 1983 with Shannon and Luchs, Realtors in Montgomery County, MD, and later with Weichert, Realtors, Coldwell Banker Stevens, Realtors and Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. He retired from real estate in 2010.

In 2013, Richard and Kay moved to Reston, VA. He enjoyed great friendships in Reston and loved the trees, lakes and walking paths surrounding their home.

Richard grew up listening to St. Louis Cardinals baseball games on the radio, and later, as a Maryland resident, he followed the Baltimore Orioles for 4 decades as a season ticketholder. He had wonderful friendships over the years with his ballpark friends, both at Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards.

He also followed the Syracuse University Orangemen basketball team – especially since his son, Mike, a sports writer for the Syracuse Post Standard newspaper, has been covering the team for the past 34 years.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Elizabeth Kay Miller Waters; their two children, Michael Lyle Waters (wife, Robin) of Camillus, NY, and Katherine Leigh Scoggin (husband, Sam) of Reston, VA; their grandchildren, Christopher Michael Waters and Anna Katherine Waters and their step-grandchildren, Sierra Wright Scoggin and Shane Hunt Scoggin. He will also be dearly missed by their grand-dogs, Rocket Scoggin and Sophie Waters.

The family will gather on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at Berry Highland Memorial Funeral Home at 5315 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN. Visitation for friends and family will take place at 2:00 p.m. at Berry Highland Memorial Funeral Home, with a private graveside service to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you share time with your family and loved ones and live each day to the fullest.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.berryhighlandmemorial.com for the Waters family.