Robert Lee Waterhouse

Celebrating the life and Legacy of Robert Lee Waterhouse

Robert (Bob) Waterhouse was born in Center, Texas on June 12, 1930, to Joe and Eva Waterhouse. His mother raised he and his older sister, Sarah, to be united in the church. The four of them were happy living in Center, Texas until his father was killed in an automobile accident. Bob's mom later met and married Jay McWilliams who worked for the railroad in Center. Jay's work transferred him and his family to Silsbee, Texas where Bob and Sarah grew up. Eva raised her teens to work hard just as she had been raised. Bob's elementary and high school education required that he do schoolwork and home chores that his mom required him to do. He spent his leisure time with his close friend, Raymond Brown. Bob was a good student, and he worked after school for both the Coca Cola bottling Company and the main drug store in town. His job with Coca Cola, as a truck driver's helper, required him to load new bottles and unload empty bottles from the truck.

He was often tired after work with his homework and chores, but with his mom his chores always came first. Bob worked hard throughout his school years and looked forward to graduating from high school, but was unsure of what he could do afterwards, due to the limited opportunities available to him. He joined his high school football team and balanced football practice, his chores at home, his part-time job, and his schoolwork. He was always busy except on weekends when he spent time with his buddy Raymond. He became interested in medicine while he was working at the drugstore, and became excited with hopes of becoming a pharmacist. His football coach Pop Fraser mentored him and Bob asked him for help in finding college scholarships available for football players.

He and Pop Fraser began their quest during Bob's junior year in high school. After months of applying and searching for educational opportunities available, they found none that offered what Bob needed. Sensing Bob's frustration, Pop Fraser suggested that Bob join the United States Army. To Bob, this meant that he could join the Army and serve the minimum time and then use the G.I. Bill to fund his undergraduate education at a college for Black students in Texas. He wanted to remain in Texas, but was determined to leave Silsbee.

In order for Bob to join the army he needed his mother's signature. He expressed his desire to join to his mom and she said "No!" Being the tough mother that she was, Bob knew she would not change her mind.

Bob then met with his coach and mentor Pop Fraser to ask for his advice. Pop Fraser agreed to sign Bob's application as his mentor. The war between South Korea and the US was in full force, at the time, and the army was looking for men to serve. His application was accepted. An army recruiter, picked up Bob and Raymond, and took them both to Houston, Texas for enlistment. His mom found out from Raymond's mother and drove to Houston to meet the bus on which they were riding. When the bus stopped at the Army Center for enlisting, Eva was waiting inside. Eva, being the tough lady she was, had decided she would turn the office upside down if needed, but Bob was not going to join the army at that time. However, the army recruiter ignored her and she left feeling betrayed and defeated.

After Bob and Raymond were sworn in to the US Army, they were given orders to report for training. Raymond's orders sent him to a base in Texas and Bob's orders sent him to Fort Knox, Kentucky. He and Raymond felt betrayed because the recruiter had mislead them-telling them that they would be assigned to the same base for basic training. Serving on active duty for his basic training was hard but Bob found his tasks no more difficult than his mom's chores at home. He often smiled while working because his first sergeant was not as demanding as his mother back in Silsbee. He became a good soldier, always making sure his uniforms were spotless and his shoes shined like a mirror after he polished them. He was glad that his mother's toughness had prepared him for the hard work, and the loud voice of his first sergeant.

Upon completion of his basic training, he received a commendation ribbon for excellence as an artillery shooter. His first assignment took him to Nagasaki, Japan where the United States was withdrawing a larger contingent of troops.

Bob remembered his first trip overseas riding in a large ship containing sleeping berths attached to the ceiling. He wondered why they used those sleeping arrangements, but soon saw the boat was not stable enough for beds on the floor as the boat rocked back-and-forth for most of his Pacific Ocean journey. In Japan, the US military was still conducting cleanup following World War II as most of Nagasaki had been left unlivable. After spending a year in Japan, Bob was transferred to Seoul, South Korea for combat. After serving for months on the frontline, his platoon was hit badly. It happened so quickly, he didn't even realize that he had been injured until he was awakened and told that he was being airlifted from the war zone and transferred to a hospital in Fort Sam, Houston, Texas for further treatment and surgery. He remained hospitalized for weeks before he was ultimately transferred to Fort Polk, Louisiana for active duty.

Bob had an illustrious military career that took him from his basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky to his retirement twenty years later in Fort Lee, Virginia. During his time, he also applied and was accepted into the army helicopter pilot training program in Fort Wolters, Texas and studied at the Army Transportation School in Fort Eustis, Virginia. He received the Purple Heart and other medals for his service. Along the way, he also had tours of duty in; Nagasaki Japan; Seoul, Korea; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Orleans, France; West Point, New York; Heidelberg, Ansbach, and Giessan, Germany; and Fort Eustis, Virginia where he met Lois, his lovely wife of sixty three years.

His civilian career began as a commissary manager at the Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. While working there, he was honored for exceptional service with his picture and story in both Ebony and Jet magazines. From there, he was transferred to Fort Richardson, in Anchorage Alaska. After three years there, he was selected to run commissary operations at Fort Belvoir, Virginia where he helped oversee the construction of the largest commissary in the world. He was

promoted to top ranks in the civil service where he served for nine years as Chief of Commissary Operations at Fort Belvoir, before he retired. After retirement from the civil service, he became an entrepreneur starting and running multiple businesses including ROCLAD Wholesale Food Brokerage in greater Washington, DC for the next ten years. He then began focusing more on his spiritual life and he and his wife Lois joined Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Maryland. He became an active member of the Kingsmen Men's Choir and served as a Boy Scout leader. For his faithful service, he and his good friend J.C. Williams were honored as men of the year. In 2004, he and his wife Lois moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where they joined Saint Mark United Methodist Church. Bob quickly joined the choir and later became a trustee. After some time, he and Lois sought a congregation with a less demanding drive and joined Rockwell AME Zion Church, near their home. In 2022, Bob and Lois moved to Texas, returning Bob to the state of his birth after seventy seven years. As his health declined, Bob lamented not being able to drive where he wanted to go when he wanted to go but he greatly enjoyed spending time with his family and loved ones and meeting his new neighbors at CC Young Senior Living.

He is survived by his wife Lois and his children, Diane, Robert Jr. (Maria) and Carlton (Courtney) and grand children Timothy Waterhouse (Ashante), Robert L Waterhouse III, Nia Waterhouse, Christine Waterhouse, and Joshua Waterhouse. He has two great grandchildren Alis and Eli. He is also survived by nieces Sylvia and Lorraine, nephew Tommy Junior, and many great nieces, great nephews, and cousins.