Joseph C. Waters, Jr., 85, of the town of Farmington, passed away Monday, October 10, 2011, at Aurora VNA Zilber Family Hospice in Wauwatosa.
He was born on July 17, 1926 in Milwaukee, to Joseph and Marie (nee Miller) Waters, Sr. Joe's life was to be one exciting and fascinating journey. After graduating from high school, Joe joined the U.S. Navy and served during World War II from Aug. 19, 1944 to July 2, 1946. On September 13, 1947, he was united in marriage to Amy Braxmeier at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in West Allis.
Early in their marriage, Joe built their first home in West Allis. Shortly afterward, they moved to Chicago so Joe could attend engineering school. After graduating, they moved back to Wisconsin and Joe started a career in radio and television. He worked as a chief engineer at WOKY, WISN, WYLO, and WBKV radio and television station Channels 19, 18 and 6.
In 1964, Joe and his family moved to West Bend after purchasing a farm with another family. The farm was turned into Lazy Days Campground, which is still in business 48 years later. In 1993, Joe got another idea and built the Stoneridge Golf Course, which is currently run by his son, Eric. Throughout the years Joe was president of WACO and NACO, as well as other organizations. He helped set standards for campgrounds in the state of Wisconsin.
During the winter months, Joe and Amy traveled extensively with special trips to Spain, Portugal, Guatemala and Mexico. Later they spent a peaceful time in Gulfport, MS. Amy passed away on February 21, 2001.
Joseph is survived by four children, Joseph (Carol) Waters III of Adell, Frederic (Patricia) Waters of Westfield, Ellen (Jim) Votaw of Oak Creek, and Eric Waters of the town of Farmington; son-in-law, James Czaja of New London; 11 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren; three sisters, Rose-Marie Koberstein of San Diego, CA, Genevieve "Dolly" Zeh of Dayton, OH, and Ruth Jahn of South Haven, MN; one brother, William "Bill" (Beverly) Waters of Santa Barbara, CA; nieces; nephews; other relatives and friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents; his beloved wife, Amy; a daughter, Lisa Czaja; and two brothers, Elward Waters and Robert Waters.
Joe's 85 years of life were filled with work, family and looking forward to all the new plans he dreamed of. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. Peace Joe... now is your time to share with the loved ones who have gone before you. We long to see you in the future.
Funeral services in remembrance of Joe will be held on Tuesday, October 18 at 1:30 p.m. at the Myrhum-Patten Funeral Home, 1315 W. Washington St., West Bend, with Rev. Robert Korytkowski of St. Andrew Lutheran Church officiating. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Burial will follow in Washington County Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, memorials to the American Heart Association or the Kidney Foundation are appreciated.
Our family would like to thank Dr. Rajish Trivedi for his ongoing care of Joseph. He truly gave us many more months to share with Dad. We would also like to thank Dr. Malik, Dr. Afzal, and the fantastic people at the Aurora Clinic. Heartfelt thanks to Kim, Judy, Pat and Chaplin John of the VNA, as well as the caring people at Zilber Hospice who gave Joe his final care.