Dennis Hartley Waters, age 59, passed away suddenly on April 21, 2015 at Medical Center of Plano from an aortic dissection. He was born June 23, 1955 to Alan and Harriet Waters. He is survived by his wife, Debra Waters, and three daughters, Lisa and Erin Waters and Rebecca Waters Sparling. If asked, Dennis would have told you without a moment’s hesitation that what he was proudest of in his life were his three daughters. As for his many other accomplishments, he received his undergraduate degree and MBA from Baylor University. While working full time at night to support his young family, he went on to attend law school at the University of Texas at Austin. After moving back to Dallas, he worked as an associate at Dallas law firm for several years. Although divorced from Marcy during this time, he remained an active, involved parent who spent as much time as possible with “his girls.” In 1996, Dennis met his love, Debra. He called her “Lambie” and she called him “Bear.” Together they ran a successful mortgage company for more than a decade. He became an acknowledged expert in the Fair Credit Reporting Act and his written opinions were used by several credit reporting agencies. Ultimately, Dennis returned to his love of the law and slowly built up a private practice focusing on consumer debt law suits and abuses of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Going up against some of the biggest names in creditor litigations, he won case after case. As the “new kid on the block,” he earned the respect of other defense attorneys, plaintiff attorneys, and judges in all court levels from justice court all the way up to federal court.
He is loved and mourned by his surviving family; his loving wife Debra Waters; father Alan Waters and his special friend Betty Bauman; daughters, Lisa Waters, Rebecca Sparling and husband David Sparling, Erin Waters and her special friend, Jessa Yarbrough; previous wife and mother of his daughters, Marcy Brandon; brother, Craig Waters and wife Betty; nieces and nephews, RC and Amy Waters, and Jim and Leah Waters all of Texas; brother, Robert Waters and wife Orleta; niece and nephew, Scott and Jen Waters; niece Kari Noto and fiancé Dave Fahlgren; niece and nephew, Ryan and Kelly Waters all of Washington, Illinois and Florida; father-in-law, Robert L. Becker; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Pam and Mark Brown, Bob and Vickie Becker; nephews and special friend, Josh Brown, Nick Brown, and Sophia Newman; nieces, Leslie Becker and Jennifer Becker all of Colorado.
Dennis was preceded in death by his mother, Harriet.
The family will receive friends during a visitation Thursday, April 30 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home in Allen, Texas. A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 2 at 10:30 a.m. at Royal Lane Baptist Church, 6707 Royal Ln, Dallas, TX 75230. A second memorial service will be held at Plymouth Congregational Church in Fort Collins, Colorado with date/time to be determined.