Moonlight Sonata

On January 8, 2008, we all lost a great father, grandfather, friend, brother, soul mate, and above all, a great man! Gordon Watters passed at 1pm, surrounded by family, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

You can view the complete obituary that was printed in the El Paso Times on January 11, 2008.

We all feel the profound loss and are saddened to not have Gordon here with us. I would like to dedicate this website, and this page in particular, to the everlasting memory of a great family man who was a strong supporter of this site and often looked to it for updates and stories from each of us. Gordon and Nancy are at the top of the pyramid of everyone that is part of this website. Others looking at this website are likely close friends who quickly became like extended family members. As the son of Gordon, I can say that even my friends (and especially my wife) would look to Gordon as a secondary father figure. On this page in particular, everyone is invited to share their memories and photos. Simply login and look below for the comments section and photo album link.

Let's remember him, and maybe smile at the beautiful memories!

SERVICE

On Saturday, January 12, 2008, a funeral service was held to celebrate the life of Gordon at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in El Paso. The service was full of family and friends and a wonderful spirit of remembrance. The service was led by the fantastic pastoral leadership of St. Mark's; Rev. Tom Nagle, Rev. Felicia Hopkins, and Rev. Curtis Borden.

During the service, a video was shown to give everyone a glimpse of the life of Gordon through his personal pictures. Throughout his life, Gordon loved to take pictures, and he loved to show them off. Because of this, and Gordon's recent endeavor to digitally copy all of his old slides to the computer, we had an incredible library of photos to pick from. Fortunately for the family, Patty Palafox took copies of the photos and Gordon's personal music, and she quickly produced the perfect video remembrance of Gordon's life. The 10-minute video is below.

PICTURES
View pictures in a dedicated photo album for Gordon. Registered users are asked to add your favorite picture of Gordon in this album, along with a brief description.

FROM THE FAMILY
Throughout Gordon's fight with cancer, and in the weeks following his passing, so many people reached out to our family to lend assistance and support. We always had a warm meal on the table, and a shoulder when we needed it. The outpouring of support from family friends was truly incredible, and it helped us all to get through this difficult time.

For me (Richard), I was especially blessed to be working for a company (Baird, Hampton & Brown, Inc.) where family comes first. I was regularly asked by the Owners for a status on my dad, and told that whatever I needed to do - I should do it. Work is work, and there will be more when I return. My boss, Mike McIlraith, assured me that we would all work together to get through the time ahead, and that I would natually have the time I needed to be with my family. I took them at their word and spent a month with my family. In that time, I was able to laugh, cry, and spend time comforting and being comforted by Mom, Dad, and my brothers and sisters. Most important was the time I was able to be with my Dad when we all needed it most. For the memories and the peace of mind that I will now carry with me for the rest of my life, I am eternally thankful to BHB.

After the service, Matt said it best:

I WANTED TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO EXPRESS SOME OF MY FEELINGS FROM THIS PAST WEEK. THIS PAST WEEK I SAW TWO VERY DIFFERENT SIDES OF LIFE. I SAW MY DAD PASS AWAY IN FRONT OF MY EYES. I TAKE COMFORT IN KNOWING THAT HE IS NOW AT PEACE AND RESTING. I ALSO SAW THIS WEEK HOW BEAUTIFUL LIFE IS WITH ALL OF THE SUPPORT THAT WE ALL RECEIVED. IT IS HUMBLING FOR ME TO BE HERE AND BE WITH MY PARENT’S SECOND FAMILY, ST MARKS.

WORDS CAN NOT EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN THERE FOR MY PARENTS AND US THROUGH ALL OF THIS. YOU ARE ALL A BLESSING. ALL OF OUR NEEDS WERE MET, FROM FOOD BEING BROUGHT TO THE HOUSE DAILY, CALLS ASKING HOW WE WERE, DAILY VISITS FROM FRIENDS OFFERING SUPPORT, A HUG WHEN WE NEEDED IT, A HAND TO HOLD, AND EVEN A SHOULDER TO CRY ON. EVERYONE HAD THE SAME MESSAGE, IF YOU NEED ANYTHING PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I HAVE TO RECOGNIZE TWO SPECIAL PEOPLE. FIRST IS MARY WHITE. MY MOM’S FRIEND FOR OVER 27 YEARS. MARY WAS THERE EVERY DAY FOR US, OFFERING HER SUPPORT AND COMFORT. YOU ARE A VERY SPECIAL PERSON MARY AND THE FAMILIY AND I LOOK AT YOU AS OUR SECOND MOTHER. THE SECOND PERSON IS FELICIA. SHW WAS BY THE HOUSE EVERY DAY. EVERY TIME I TURNED AROUND FELICIA WAS THERE, AT THE HOSPITAL, WHEREVER WE WERE IN NEED SHE WAS THERE. AS THINGS WERE UNFOLDING FELICIA WAS THERE FOR GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT. SHE HELPED US COPE WITH THE MOMENT AND INFORMED US OF WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT SO WE WOULD BE READY. FELICIA YOU ARE A SPECIAL PERSON AND I THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE.

PEOPLE THAT I HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE IN MY LIFE WERE GOING OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HELP MY PARENTS AND SEE THAT MY DAD’S FINAL DAYS WERE FULL OF LOVE AND SUPPORT. I CAN NOT THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH FOR BEING THERE FOR MY MOM AND ALL OF US. WE WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO ALL OF THIS ON OUR OWN WITHOUT ALL OF YOU.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT IS THAT MY MAIN CONCERN DURING MY DAD’S FINAL DAYS WAS THAT HE WAS COMFORTABLE, TO MAKE SURE HE KNEW WE LOVED HIM AND THAT HE KNEW WE WERE ALL THERE FOR HIM. WE ACCOMPLISHED THAT. HOWEVER, THAT QUICKLY TURNED TO MAKING SURE THAT NOW MY MOM IS TAKEN CARE OF. OUR FAMILIES WILL ALWAYS BE WITH MY MOM, BE AT HER SIDE, BUT THE DAY IS COMING WHERE WE WILL ALL HAVE TO RETURN TO OUR FAMILIES AND I WAS VERY WORRIED ABOUT MY MOM. I AM NOT WORRIED ANYMORE. AFTER WHAT I SAW THIS WEEK, I KNOW ST MARKS WILL BE WITH HER, AS HER FAMILY WILL BE, HELPING HER COPE DAY TO DAY, HELPING HER FIND THE STRENGTH TO MOVE FORWARD, BE THERE FOR HER WHEN SHE NEEDS IT. MY MOM WILL NOT FALL, SHE WILL NOT GO THROUGH THIS ALONE. I THINK I SPEAK FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY WHEN I SAY THAT IT GIVES US GREAT PEACE OF MIND KNOWING THAT HER SECOND FAMILY WILL ALSO BE WITH HER EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO FOR THIS FAMILY.

If there is something you would like to add to this section, please email it to richard 'at' thewattersfamily.com

MEMORIES

LEARN MORE
Are you interested in pancreatic cancer and want to learn more? Visit this page on our site. It contains an exceptional video of the now famous "Last Lecture" by Dr. Randy Pausch and other materials at the bottom of the page to direct you to other foundations doing great work. They need your help, so consider donating if you can.