Community Corner

Mother of Filmmaker John Waters Dies in Towson

"He always liked the villain," said Patricia Waters of her son, John, a filmmaker.

Patricia W. Waters, 89, of Lutherville, the mother of filmmaker John Waters, died Saturday of complications from a fall and recent surgery at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson, reports The Baltimore Sun.

"She was our matriarch. She was an unusually strong and loving mother who was lovely and taught me the articles of good taste, which I turned into a career," John Waters told the Sun. "She was equally proud of all of her children and their different lives."

Mrs. Waters and her husband of 64 years, John Samuel Waters, who founded a commercial fire-extinguisher business, supported their son John's interest in filmmaking, the newspaper says. The family home in Lutherville was the location of their son's first film, "Hag in a Black Leather Jacket," a 17-minute short that he made in 1964.

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Their son's interest in the off-beat and bizarre began in his childhood.

"He always liked the villain — Captain Hook in 'Peter Pan,' the Wicked Witch in 'Snow White,' " Mrs. Waters told The Wall Street Journal in a 1983 interview. "I used to think it was strange."

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"She taught us to have a good work ethic and a sense of humor," said Waters, the director of “Hairspray” and other films. "We were a very close family, and she always made us feel safe, which really is the only job a parent has to do, and she did it so well."

Mrs. Waters was a longtime volunteer at the Baltimore County Public Library in Towson, tutored city children for years, and was a member of the board of the Fresh Air Fund. She was a member for 62 years and a past president of the Lutherville Garden Club.

She was a member of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, 200 Ware Ave., Towson, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Read the full obituary on the Baltimore Sun website: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bs-md-ob-patricia-waters-20140210,0,5328061.story#ixzz2sxtf2cst


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