Donald Earl Waterfield
Don lived life on his own terms, with curiosity, intelligence and a wry sense of humor that got him into and out of catastrophe time and again. A true “Serial Monogamist”, he was married six times and loved each woman with his whole heart. He fathered two sons, Donald, Jr and Scott Waterfield, and adopted a third, Lewis Waterfield, who remain estranged. Don chose to live very simply while totally supporting his family, including sending his step-daughter, Xixi Luo, to Virginia Tech, where she earned a Masters Degree in Accounting.
Don started his Culinary career at the Little Chef in Roanoke and formally trained at the Greenbrier and Homestead Resorts, then briefly owned his own restaurant, Waterfield’s, in Covington, VA, before a broken nose and loss of smell and taste forced a career change. He drove a cab, tarred roofs, worked in a kreosote plant and sold insurance before following his natural aptitude into a brilliant career as a Computer Programmer. A natural “hacker”, Don worked for a few years tracking bad guys for the FBI as a “Cyber Angel”as a hobby. He identified a subspecies of red and black ant for the Smithsonian, crafted crossword puzzles for the Roanoke Bulletin and published a book, ”How Everyone Can Program PHP”, before a stroke and subsequent frailty knocked him “offline”. A pure and somehow innocent soul, Donny had friendships with folks from all walks of life with an abiding love of birds and animals who loved him right back. His faith was important to him and late in life he converted to Catholicism since he saw it as the oldest and truest religion.
Big sister Barbara Hodges, little sister, Lauri W. Callison, and brothers-in-law, Emory Hodges and Philip Callison, will forever appreciate the months that we were able to care for the man who always put others before himself, and who, as long as he was able to, freely laughed and loved. Body and mind used up, his soul was made free to fly and we know that Donny was welcomed home by our Lord Jesus and our Mom and Dad who preceeded him.
If you would, please feed the little birds, usher a bug out of your house or say “God bless you” to someone today. And find a reason to laugh. God bless.
