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This endowment honors the inspirational legacy of Rev Hosie & Mary Louise (Brock) Waters.
the late Mary Ruth Brock, the late Rev Champ & Ida Mae Waters, and the late Odice & Ruby
Brock.
Rev Hosie and Louise Waters served over 30 years in the educational field. Rev. Hosie Waters, a
Fort Valley State College, University of Oklahoma, and Troy State University graduate, served
as an educator (mathematics, sciences), asst. superintendent, and school superintendent. He was
the first African American School Superintendent in Macon County, Georgia. He also was one
of the first two African Americans to graduate from the master’s natural science program at the
University of Oklahoma in the 1960s. He followed his father’s footsteps in the ministry and
served as pastor of four churches in Middle Georgia. Before he entered the ministry, he also
sang in a gospel group which included one of his older brothers. His wife Louise Waters, a
Spelman College, Fort Valley State University, and Troy State University graduate also served
as an educator (history, economics, geography, civics). They have participated in professional
and/or community organizations. Though they were a few classes short of their PhDs, they
opted not to move their family, especially his mother whom they assisted, to northern Georgia,
which then was the only available location to obtain their PhDs in the 1980s. Their sacrifices for
their family members and teamwork still resonate today.
Mary Ruth Brock, an older sister of Mary Louise Waters, also served over 30 years as an
educator (language arts). She taught in a small Georgia town (Marshallville) but remains in the
hearts of her former students and her relatives. She was a graduate of Jarvis Christian College
and Fort Valley State University. She and her Mary Louise Waters were close, which is not
coincidental since Mary Ruth Brock named her sister ‘Mary’ so that they could have the same
(first) name.
Their respective parents (Rev Champ & Ida Mae Waters and Odice & Ruby Brock) were
instrumental in their successful journey by stressing family, knowledge, hard work, dedication,
integrity, and faith.
J. Maria Waters, the daughter of Rev. Hosie and Mary Louise Waters, endowed this scholarship
to honor and support the dedication of women who are working to better themselves, their
families, and their communities through education, which the Waters-Brock families feel
strongly about.
Ruby Brock
Maria Waters with her grandparents Rev Champ and Ida Mae Waters