George Waters Tribute

by Sharon Lee

I am sad to announce the passing of former LIHI Board Member George Waters on February 15th at the age of 90. He served on our Board of Directors for 20 years (1996-2015). George is survived by his wife Marian Yearby Waters, who served on the LIHI board from from 2008-2014.

George enjoyed a long life of faith and service to his country and communities. An Airforce Veteran, he served in the Air National Guard Reserve for 38 years, worked at Boeing for 37 years, and served as a deacon at the Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church, where he served as a member of the Prison Ministry and as president of the Male Chorus.

After retirement from Boeing, George became a deacon of the Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church. I first met George when LIHI helped the church work with legal services to incorporate a new housing nonprofit organization, Goodwill Development Association (GDA) of Seattle, which was established to build and preserve low-income housing in the Central Area and elsewhere. George and Church leaders asked for my help to rehabilitate a vacant building owned by the church at 1502 E Yesler Way. 

At the time there was a critical need in the community for housing for pregnant teens who could no longer live at home. So one Sunday George and I made a presentation to the congregation to ask if they would agree to let the property be used as transitional housing for homeless teen parents. We were so delighted when we received a resounding “yes” from the entire congregation! I am so grateful to George, the Pastor, and members of the Church for dedicating the use of this building to help this vulnerable population. 

Securing financing and renovating the building into the Aridell Mitchell Home for homeless teen parents launched my career in finance and development—it became my first housing development project. I was working at Fremont Public Association at the time and could not find a consultant willing to take on the project, so I just decided to do it myself. We worked on the rehab with Environmental Works, and secured financing from the city of Seattle, McKinney funds from HUD, the state Housing Trust Fund, and vouchers from the Seattle Housing Authority. My staff and I then worked with George and the Church to preserve two at-risk Section 8 apartment buildings in the Central Area. Norman Mitchel Manor (named after the former pastor) and Alma Gamble Apartments provide housing for seniors and individuals living with disabilities. LIHI secured tax credits and operated these two buildings for the first 15 years, after which we turned over the management to GDA. I have George to thank for giving me these opportunities! 

George brought his passion for helping others to the LIHI board. He provided valuable guidance to LIHI as we continued our work to combat gentrification and displacement in communities of color, a mission LIHI continues to this day.

Please click to read George Waters' obituary.

George Waters (far right) with the LIHI Board in 2014