Denison Randall Waterman Jr.

On Monday, March 6th, 2023, Denison Randall “Randy” Waterman Jr passed away at the age of 76, after a short illness. Randy was born to Denison Randall Waterman Sr. and Dorothy Ann “Nan” Waterman (nee. Forrestal) in Chicago, Illinois. Randy spent parts of his childhood in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Jackson Mississippi, and Evanston Illinois, before his family settled in Burlington, Iowa, where he graduated from high school in 1966.

After graduating from high school, Randy attended University of Chicago for a year before joining the Army, where he trained as a Burmese interpreter and was stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. When he returned to the United States, Randy married Judith Bannon, with whom he had three children: Elijah, Anna, and Paul.

Randy earned a baccalaureate degree in Liberal Studies at Saint Ambrose College. Randy then moved to Iowa City, Iowa, to attend graduate school at the University of Iowa in religious studies. During this time he divorced, married Elieen Schleisman and became stepfather to her three children, Donald, Josef, and Heidi.

After completing his master’s degree in religious studies he made the final move of his life, settling in Albuquerque, NM. Randy was employed in Albuquerque at the Veteran Administration, where he worked on emergency management services for over 25 years.

After moving to Albuquerque, Randy fell in love with long hikes in the Sandia mountains with his dog, Tilly. He famously encountered a rattle snake on one of these hikes which he killed with his trusty wilderness knife, skinned, cooked and ate. The rattlesnake skin hung as a trophy in his office for many years.

Randy loved to play cards, chess and other games, had an encyclopedic knowledge of many subjects, and enjoyed playing National Trivia Network at local bars. Randy loved to discuss life, politics, sports, science, and numerous other topics over a vodka tonic (or 3). His family will always fondly remember and miss these lively discussions.

Randy is survived by his children: Elijah, Anna, and Paul, his step-children Donald and Heidi, his grandchildren, Ariana, Sophie, Atticus, Samuel, and Solomon, and his brothers Daniel and Matthew, in addition to numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents Denison and Nan Waterman, his beloved wife Eileen Waterman (nee. Koren), step-son Josef Schleisman, and brothers Martin and Kevin.