The name “David” is hand-carved into a cement section of Ms. Jan Waters’ driveway. We recently (Sept. 2025) visited Jan in her 4-room frame house in rural Taylors, SC. My wife, Barbara, and I brought “Rocky Road” ice cream—Jan’s favorite, she says.
She spends most of her time in a wheelchair. Tim Waters, her brother, lives next door and is two years older than Jan. The late Mr. Don and Mrs. Doris Waters were their parents.
Jan, 55, has a helper who comes to her house for seven days each week (5.5 hours weekdays and three hours each Sat./Sun.).
“They help me do all kinds of stuff. My biggest difficulty in living here by myself is not being able to reach something if I need it,” she says.
Jan was born on Feb. 5, 1970, with cerebral palsy, which affects movement and posture.
“My parents didn’t know right away that I had it,” Jan says. “They finally took me to the doctor when I was one-and-a-half years old. They did tests and discovered it was cerebral palsy.”
She had surgery at age two.
“Because my muscles were so tight, they went in and clipped them so they would grow as I grew,” she says. “I had surgeries, sometimes every six months, for a while. I’ve had more surgeries than my age.”
Jan has a long connection with Faith Temple Church (FT) in Taylors and is related, through her mother, to Mrs. Joyce Rainey Yoder, a FT member.
“I think my mama was going to Faith Temple when I was born,” she says. “She went with my aunt, Evelyn Crumley. My dad went sometimes.”
Jan accepted Jesus Christ at age six at the church.
“I’ll never forget it,” she says. “Pastor Jimmy Thompson was preaching, and I was sitting beside my mama, and we always had little toys we brought to church. She noticed I was not playing with my toys. I was leaned up against her, listening. He preached on John 3:16. At the end of the service, he said that if anyone wanted prayer or wanted to receive Christ, to come on down. So I waddled out of my seat and told Mama to get my walker—I used a walker back then. And she said, ‘Where you going?’ I said, ‘Just get me my walker.’”
Her mother saw Jan was going to the altar.
“She followed behind me and grabbed my brother by the arm and said, ‘You’re coming too,’ because he didn’t want to go down,” Jan says. “Pastor Thompson knelt down and asked me what I wanted. I said, ‘I want prayer and I want to be a Christian.’ He started crying, and my mama was squalling. He led me to the Lord. I’ll never forget that.”
Jan attended school first at Paris Elementary.
“It was hard. They didn’t know how to deal with someone who was handicapped,” she says. “We finally found a school that did. It was Sarah Collins Elementary. I walked with crutches and I had braces, too. I went first through fifth. I went to Beck Middle, sixth through eighth grade. I hated Beck—there were so many people that picked on me.”
She attended ninth through twelfth grades at J.L. Mann High School and graduated.
“I sure did. Thank you, Jesus! Get me out of there!” she says. “I liked science and English. I loved to write. I’d write short stories.”
She usually rode a bus to school.
“During my junior and senior year, I paid my mama to take me to school,” she says. “The bus came so early, and then you didn’t get home until late.”
After graduation, she met David Styles by way of Mrs. Susan Lord.
“Susan worked with him in an office and asked him if he’d like to meet somebody,” Jan says. “I didn’t know she was going to do that. She asked me the same thing, and I said, ‘Sure, I’m all for it.’ I was just fresh out of high school. I graduated when I was 20. He was 34. My mama had a problem with it. My daddy told her to leave me alone. She didn’t like it that he was a little bit older.”
David had Arthrogryposis, deformity of the bones.
“He wore braces on his legs,” Jan says. “His feet were size 13 in children’s shoes. He had little feet and little legs, and one arm was drawn up. But he managed to learn to drive and held down some jobs. He graduated from Travelers Rest High School in 1974, I think.”
He drove, and they went on their first date.
“We went to Carolina Fine Foods and got hamburger plates and fries, and he’d never been on a date or had a girlfriend,” Jan says. “He was so nervous. He picked up his hamburger to take a bite, and he dropped it in the floor. I was trying my best not to laugh, but he picked it up and ate it, anyway. I offered him mine, but he said, ‘Nope.’”
They were boyfriend-girlfriend for 32 years.
“We used to love to go to the airport and watch planes,” Jan says. “He went to Faith Temple sometimes, but he was strictly Baptist. He’d come to church if I was in a play or something.”
David drove a special van that could lift Jan’s wheelchair; he took her to many medical appointments.
After graduation, she waited two years and “got into” Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, NC, in 1993.
“I stayed about eight months,” Jan says. “I enjoyed the challenge of the classes, but it really took a toll on my body. I didn’t realize how hard it would be.”
She returned to her parents’ house in 1993. In 1995, she moved to Towers East Apartments. She lived there three years and moved to Beverly Apartments in Greer for four years. Her grandmother died, and Jan moved into the house her grandmother willed to her.
“I’ve lived here 25 years,” she says. “My dad’s mother was Janet Waters. She had this house built for herself before I was born. She used to live across the road, where my parents lived.”
Jan had her legs removed to her mid-thighs around 20 years ago (2005) because of sores and lymphatic issues. (Lymphedema: swelling caused by a buildup of lymph fluid in the body's soft tissues.)
“My mother opposed the amputations, but I was ready,” Jan says. “My doctor was right there when I woke up from surgery. He asked me how I was feeling. I said, ‘I’m sleepy.’ He wanted me to sit up and talk to him a little bit. I got awake, and he said, ‘Are you ready to see it,’ and I said, ‘Yeah.’ My mom at this point had not seen it, and she broke down when she saw my legs gone. My first comment was ‘Well, I’m half the woman I used to be.’ The doctor said, ‘I’m glad you’re taking it as well as you are.’”
Her parents had dementia; they died on Dec. 27 and 28, 2019.
“Dad first, and mom within 24 hours,” she says. “Their anniversary is Dec. 23. I prayed God would let them live long enough to see that, even though Mom had already gone into a coma. I wanted them to be alive and together on their 60th anniversary. They passed away four days later. I miss them every day.”
David died of congestive heart failure at age 68.
“That was July 21, 2023,” Jan says. “It was tough; it’s still hard, but I know where he is. I know one day I’ll see him again. He was raised in Enoree Baptist Church.”
She says the Lord has “been there,” and kept her from becoming depressed and taking lots of anxiety medicines.
“I simply refuse now to be that way,” she says. “Jesus doesn’t want us to be depressed or sad. He says in His word that He will be with you, that he will walk with you through those waters. And he has me.”
Sometimes pity parties happen.
“Then I usually start digging in the Word,” she says. “Find something. Get me out of that slump. It gets hard, sometimes, being here by myself. I usually can find stuff to occupy my time. I like to look up stuff on the internet, listen to my Bible, find different devotions. I like to send Bible verses to people or find somebody that might need a phone call, just to cheer somebody up. I look up a lot of stuff about nature and animals.”
She says Pastor Raymond D. Burrows and Faith Temple has been helpful.
“They’ve been there for me through thick and thin,” she says. “I’ve called him and talked with him. He’s seen me go through a lot, too.”
“Im an open book,” she says. “You can ask me anything.”
“God gives me the strength, and He’s been good to me. I give Him the glory. I’m not going to lie, and tell you I haven’t asked questions like ‘Why?’ But I always get the answer back, in the Bible, of ‘I know what I’m doing. Trust me.’”
“It’s not an easy road, but none of us were given an easy road. You just have to hang on to the Unseen Hand, and know that He will get you through it. And I choose to be happy in every situation, whether I’m in the hospital or sick. I don’t want to be down and stay down because I think that’s when the devil can get in and really do some damage. So I try to keep my phone, and Bible verses, and stay in the Word as much as I can. I listen to different preachers, and my favorite preacher is RDB, Pastor Raymond D. Burrows. We need people with skin to ‘be there.’ I know I can call on him any time if I need something. He’s been there for me.
Sometimes people are afraid to ask about disabilities; they’re afraid of offending someone. But, if you want to know, ask me. My life is an open book.
According to her brother, Tim, Jan, 55, died at her home on either Monday night, Nov. 24, 2025, or the next morning before her caregiver arrived. She left instructions for her body to be cremated and for no funeral service to be held. She had a strong and determined soul.
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