Donald Monroe Waits

Donald Monroe Waits, 81 of Gulfport, MS passed away peacefully Sunday, September 10, 2017 in Ocean Springs, MS from a continued battle with Parkinson’s Disease and renal cancer. Don was born in Tallahassee, FL, but grew up in Hattiesburg, MS, where he graduated from Hattiesburg High School in 1954. After attending Pearl River College (now PRCC) on a football scholarship, he then attended Mississippi Southern College (now USM), on a football scholarship, where he and his teammates won the 1958 Tangerine Bowl. After graduation, Don joined the Marine Corps as an officer, stationed at Quantico,VA, with his first wife, Gwen. It was here that Don played football for the Quantico Marines and later with the Camp Lejeune football team. After fulfilling his obligation to the United States Marine Corps, they then moved to New Orleans, LA, where he worked as an accountant for Texaco, before attending Tulane University on full academic scholarship, obtaining his law degree in 1966. He moved his family to Wiggins, MS, where he practiced law, also serving as Stone County prosecutor and attorney for the school board for over 15 years. He spent many years active in the Marine Corps reserve, retiring as Lt. Colonel. In 1984, he moved to Gulfport after being appointed to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Biloxi, MS, which he truly enjoyed until his full retirement in January 2001. He was an avid member of the Gulfport Yacht Club, his self-proclaimed ‘pied-a-terre’, where he met his second wife, Joan. Up until his illness prevented him from attending, Don and Joan could be seen dancing the nights away at GYC, known and loved by all. Most memorable were their ‘Christmas on the Bayou’ parties, where family and friends gathered to watch the boats pass by in their backyard on Bayou Bernard. On March 20, 2007, the All-American Football Foundation selected Don as a recipient of its annual Bill Wade Unsung Hero Award. In 2014, Don was awarded the Pearl River Community College Lifetime Achievement Award, of which he was very proud. Don was proceeded in death by his mother and father, Elizabeth Rhodes Waits and Frank Alexander Waits. He is survived by his loving wife Joan Benigno French Waits; daughter, Wendy Waits Peterman (Kevin), of Biloxi; son, Scott Jenkins Waits; step-son George French (Ashley) and their children Brent French and Danny French of Gulfport; daughter, Robin Clements Small (Bruce), of Ocean Springs; grandsons, Nikolas Peterman and Colin Clements; ex wife, Gwen Waits Montjoy (Paul), of Diamondhead, and last, but definitely not least, his dear friend, colleague, and honorary daughter, Ruth Morgan Atwell (Don), of Pass Christian. The entire family would especially like to thank care-givers: Alisha, Kim, Nicole, Nikki, and Shay, for their love and care that they gave our ‘2 Donnie’ during his brief but wonderful stay at the Walnut House in Ocean Springs, as well as Notre Dame Hospice. We appreciate the love and care you showed him, and us, during his last weeks here on earth. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting a donation to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Irma relief. Visitation will be held Thursday, September 14, 2017 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home, 15th Street, Gulfport with the service at 11:00 a.m. Interment to follow at Biloxi National Cemetery, Biloxi. There will be a "crossing the bar" celebration of life following the interment at the Gulfport Yacht Club from 1:30 p.m. - until. View and sign register book at www.bradfordokeefe.com