“Sister Golden Hair, spread your wings and fly high and be free.
Life story
Lisa was brought into this world and born to Bill and Patricia Meeker Waits on April 27, 1963, in San Diego, CA. She lived there until she was three years old. When her mother met Frank J Vella, Jr., they were soon married and Lisa was adopted by her new Father. The three of them moved to Jamestown, NY and started the rest of Lisa’s family, to include three sisters. After her parents divorced and both remarried, Lisa gained another sister who was blessed to know and love her and a brother, who sadly was born after Lisa’s death. Lisa was the best big sister and helped care for all of her sisters daily, learning how to cook and clean, change diapers, read stories and showed so much love! She would console us if we cried and rock us to sleep if we were scared. When we had babysitters that were not very nice, Lisa offered to watch us and she did much better than all of them! She loved dogs of all kinds, liked to skate board around town or to the Maple street tot lot during the summer months and she really loved Rock and Roll music. Some of her favorites were Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Pink Floyd. She had a tape recorder to tape music onto from the radio and it had a microphone. She loved to sing to the music and record herself. Some of her favorite treats were marshmallow circus peanuts, Nacho Cheese Doritos and Tahitian Treat Soda. She also loved pizza subs from Rigoli’s pizza and sub shop. Lisa fell into some troubled times and had many struggles as a young teenager. Suffering with dyslexia, she didn’t excel in school. She had difficulty choosing healthy friendships and knowing where she could fit in. At the young age of 16, she was killed in an automobile accident. The Lord wrapped his arms around her instantly and took her home. She has been missed daily by her family and her absence left a hole in all of our hearts.
Photos
Lifetime
The world Lisa knew
Family milestones in gold, history for context
1963
Born April 27
1967
Lisa was 4 when the first Super Bowl was played
1969
Lisa was 6 when the Woodstock music festival opened
1970
Lisa was 7 when "Monday Night Football" debuted
1971
Lisa was 8 when Walt Disney World opened in Florida
1976
Lisa was 13 when America celebrated its Bicentennial
Lisa Rae Waits was born on a Saturday, April 27th, 1963 in San Diego, CA to William R Waits, Jr. & Patricia J Waits, nee Meeker. Blond & blue- eyed, she loved the outdoors, the beach & swimming pools. She was a happy baby & toddler. Her parents divorced in 1965 & in 1966 Lisa & her mom traveled by train to Jamestown, NY where Lisa learned how to build snowmen, welcomed her step father who later adopted her & three little sisters were added to Lisa’s life. She loved them, rocked them, laughed & played with them. Her long, golden hair, blue eyes & beautiful smile in addition to her loving, gentle, patient spirit set her apart. She liked to wear her long hair in a “tony nail” as she called a pony tail. When circumstances changed & her mom became a single mom to her four girls, Lisa was a help in so many ways, preferring to watch the younger girls instead of having a baby sitter. She was responsible, reliable, loving, caring & a wonderful care giver, with a very strong inner strength. She had such a zest for life loving animals & music. She was pleasant to all, easy going while always seeking security & belonging. I respected her & loved her unconditionally. She did well in school in spite of being afflicted with dyslexia, but died before able to graduate from high school. She died 27 days before her brother, David J Nelson was born, before her nine nephews & one niece were born & she would have loved them all. She was greatly loved & is greatly missed. I know she is in Heaven as she loved God & lived a Christian life. I will always love you 🥰 my beautiful daughter. RIP.
