Franklin David ‘Dave’ Waterhouse, 80

Franklin David “Dave” Waterhouse, 80, of West Plains, formerly of Sycamore, died peacefully in his sleep on Nov. 7, 2020, at Brooke Haven Healthcare in West Plains. He had been a resident of Brooke Haven for over two years, incapacitated by Parkinson’s disease and dementia. When weather and the covid-19 pandemic cooperate, Mr. Waterhouse’s family and friends will gather to celebrate his life. 

He was born May 23, 1940, in Sycamore, the son of Percy A and Ruth Almeda Shipley Waterhouse. He attended Lottie Holler School and graduated from Dora High School in 1958.

The day after his graduation, he entered the Navy and served three years as an aircraft electrician at Whiting Field in Florida. After his honorable discharge, he worked at various jobs until he began a 32-year career as an equipment installer for AT&T, working in Southern California and other locations in the Southwest. He was especially proud of his contribution to the installation of communications equipment in the U.S. NORAD site at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. After his retirement from AT&T, he operated the Wire Service, his licensed electrical contracting business in Prescott, Arizona.

When asked how many years he had been married, Mr. Waterhouse always asked, “You want that consecutive or cumulative?” His marriage to Ruth Ann Scheuneman in 1966 produced a son, Garet David Waterhouse. He married Donna Spiker in 1975. He said you had to keep doing anything until you got it right, and on May 20, 1989, he married Linda “Lin” Harrington Richter in Loma Linda, California. He and Lin were married 31 years.

Mr. Waterhouse loved working on dune buggies to ride the California Dunes. He enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how things worked and making them work better. He adored his and Lin’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He loved teaching them about his Ozarks heritage and taking them swimming in Bryant Creek. He liked to explain the grinding process at Hodgson Mill, where he had worked as a teenager.

He and Lin traveled and camped in various RVs with kids, grandkids and friends. Together, they built three houses in Phelan, California; Prescott, Arizona; and Sycamore. Cutting the grass at their 20-acre home in Sycamore was his special pleasure. In quiet moments, he read or worked crossword, math and logic puzzles while reclining in his chair surrounded by his beloved dogs and cats. 

He is survived by his wife, Lin, of West Plains; his son, Garet Waterhouse and husband John Esquivil of Santa Rosa, California; stepsons Jason Richter and wife Robin of Yucaipa, California, and Mark Richter of Bogota, Colombia; “bonus” daughter Jenna Richter of Prosper, Texas; grandchildren Rachel Richter Hill and husband Dylan of Washington, D.C., Allison Richter and fiancé Corey Karibo of Collingswood, New Jersey, Christy Richter, Jessica Richter, Brent Richter, Elijah Richter and Landon Richter, all of Yucaipa, California; and great-grandchildren Henry Elliott Hill of Washington, D.C., and Everly Rose Richter of Yucaipa; a sister, Margaret Collins of Foley, Missouri; and his brother, Charles Wishman of St. Charles. 

He was preceded in death by his parents; his grandparents, Annie and C. C. Shipley, and Margaret and Frank Waterhouse, all formerly of Dora; and his half-brother, Robert Waterhouse, formerly of Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.    

Ozark County Times

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