Hubert Temple Waters was born in 1903 to William Crittendon Waters and Mamie Davis of Grandview, Texas. His father supported his family both as a farmer and as a school teacher that encouraged Hubert to enter the US Naval Academy on June 28, 1921. He was graduate in June 1925 and entered the Navy's fledgling air force. He reported to NAS Pensacola shortly afterwards in 1928 to begin his flight training. While here, he met Miss Augusta "Gussie" Sims (1900-1972), daughter of Margaret "Maggie" Louise Stuckey and William A. Sims. The young couple would marry in November 1929 in Pensacola. LTjg Waters received orders to the USS Saratoga that was operating off the West Coast out of San Diego. While returning to the carrier he and his co-pilot crashed and sank into the depths. His co-pilot was thrown clear and survived, but Hubert went down with his plane and was never recovered. Gussie was notified of his fate and returned home to mourn her husband with her family. The family home was located at 108 West Chase Street and was shared with her mother and siblings; Drew Otto (Pensacola High School Class of 1939), Mallory, and Byrd Sims. There, Gussie's mother and aunt Sarah Frederick, all widows, ran a boarding house to make ends meet. Maggie would pass away in her house in 1944 and was buried in St. John's Cemetery. Gussie never remarried and continued to work as a clerk while her brother Drew was working as a proof reader along with his siblings Byrd W. and Julia. In 1940, Drew Sr. was the information clerk for the Chamber of Commerce information bureau while Byrd was a clerk for the police department. Gussie would finally pass away in 1972 and joined her mother in St. John's.
Midshipman Hubert Temple Waters, US Naval Academy, Annapolis
Pensacola News Journal article of 1-16-1930
Pensacola News Journal January 18, 1930
The USS Saratoga at the time of LTjg Hubert Waters' crash on January 15, 1930