Marjorie L. Waters

Marjorie L. Waters, 71, died on February 22, 2025, surrounded by friends and family.

She was born in Providence, RI on February 11, 1954, to the late Kenneth V.W. Brown Sr., and the late Esther E. (Reels) Brown. She is the mother of Shaun C. Waters and Brandon A. Waters. She has four grandchildren. She is survived by siblings Ronald H. Brown, Pamela L. Brown, and Kyle A. Brown. She survived by many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is preceded in death by her siblings Kenneth V.W. Brown Jr., and Shelley E. Walmsley.

A graduate of Rhode Island College with a Political Science degree in 1979, she launched a long career in information technology. Her last two stops were Director of Information Technology for a Tribal Nation and a Six Sigma Process Excellence Coach in the finance industry. She left corporate life and decided to share her long tradition of being a strong community advocate and counsel, especially for the elderly.

She directed the Westminster Senior Center in Providence where she got a first-hand account of the issues concerning senior citizens and committed herself to helping improve their lives. She was a leader in both the Home Care Independence Provider Program and the Raise the Bar coalitions, both of which passed the legislature and have a profound impact of the daily and quality of living situations for those in need of home and nursing home care.

After Westminster, she joined the Rhode Island Organizing Project (RIOP) in 2015. She provided services for elders and adults with disabilities to improve access to health care, transportation, and community-based services. In 2022, she received the “Senior Heroes Award for Outstanding Service on behalf of Older Rhode Islanders.”

In 2024, RIOP worked with their coalition partners at the Save RIPTA Campaign to increase funding for RIPTA to prevent cuts in bus service and to provide resources to hire new bus drivers and expand hours to make it easier for riders to renew or sign up for bus passes. Marjorie loved her work as well as working with her colleagues.

Marjorie most enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and family from Rhode Island and New Jersey. She had a love for science, specifically Astronomy, Nature Study, Medical, and Human Origins. She loved researching Brown family history, and had a broad taste in music, from David Sanborn to George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelics, and Prince. She had a knack for delivering original silly “Mom jokes”. If there was a pint of ice cream to be craved, she was a Ben & Jerry’s fan, full stop.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to Better Lives Rhode Island food pantry: betterlivesri.org

Memorial Service will be held on Sunday March 1, 2025 with expressions of condolences between 4:00 – 4:30 PM, and the memorial service immediately following at 4:30 PM.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.