Joan Louise Foster Waters

Joan Louise Foster Waters, devoted Christ-follower, faithful wife, passionate mother, proud and playful grandmother, and enthusiastic educator, passed away on January 20, 2026, having dedicated her life to serving and blessing others with a generous spirit and boundless energy. She was 77.

“You only needed a few minutes around Joan to understand why her nickname was ‘The Energizer Bunny,’” her church recently remembered. “She was a bright, beautiful light full of joy, compassion, and an enormous heart for teaching and nurturing children with the love of Christ. Joan bubbled with excitement and enthusiasm wherever she went. She was a true encourager, gifted with the ability to make you feel like the most valued person in the world.”

Her family and friendships are her true legacy. She devoted herself to treasuring her husband of 55 years, Buff; sons Rick and Brad; daughters-in-law Cris and Nicole; grandchildren Ethan, Avery, Madi, and Lucy; brothers-in-law Greg (deceased) and Steve and their wives Gina (deceased) and Jenger; nephews David, Forrest, Logan, and Preston; niece Jill; cousins in Kansas and South Carolina; extended family across Texas and Louisiana; and a host of church family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues in Victoria, Clear Lake, Missouri City, and Houston.

Known as MeMe to her grandchildren, she loved game nights, playing dress-up, building elaborate cities and train setups with blocks and Legos, watching drama and dance performances, and traveling to Christmas and summertime getaways with the whole family.

Born on July 23, 1948, in Houston, Texas, Joan was the daughter of the late John Jefferson Foster and Vernice Louise Carpenter Foster. She grew up playing in Memorial Park and around her neighborhood just west of downtown. Ballet and art were among her early passions. She and her mother were regular attenders of Second Baptist Church of Houston, where she acknowledged Christ as her Savior as a youth.

She graduated Lamar High School as co-valedictorian in 1966, then attended Rice University on scholarship, where she achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in Biology in 1970. Less than a week after graduation, she married fellow Rice Owl William (Buff) Edgar Waters, Jr. of San Antonio. That summer, they moved to Charleston, WV, to begin their lives together.

Putting her dreams of medical school on hold even after being accepted at the Baylor College of Medicine, she taught high school physiology and honors biology in Charleston, while she earned a Master of Science degree in Counseling & Guidance from West Virginia University in 1975.

In the five decades that followed, she poured herself into uplifting students, teachers, administrators, even entire school districts, with tireless hustle and resourceful creativity. From Region III Education Service Center to Stanley, O’Connor, and Inez Elementaries to Friendswood ISD and others up and down the Texas Gulf Coast, she taught students, trained teachers, facilitated workshops, wrote curricula, and led multiple schools as a guidance counselor and principal. She also served as a consultant for the Texas Education Agency.

Yet it was her last career stop that had as much impact as any. In 2011, she was enlisted to be the founding principal of Generation One Academy (G1A), a school and ministry outreach in Houston’s Third Ward. As the school for underprivileged children launched, she established the curriculum, recruited teachers, filled in as classroom substitute, taught Bible lessons, and was Joan-of-all-trades for years. She led the move to transform G1A into an early childhood intervention program, more fitting for the area than a traditional elementary school. Afterward, she served as a Gen One board member for several years.

Upon her retirement, Gen One recognized her many contributions by naming the school grounds the Generation One Academy Joan Waters Campus. Eleven years later, Gen One announced that future expansion would include the Joan Waters Indoor Playground.

At the dedication, Gen One founder Mike Malkemes said, “We proudly honor the legacy of our visionary academy leader, whose unwavering dedication has been the cornerstone of Generation One Academy. From the inception, Joan’s commitment to fostering a nurturing and transformative environment has driven our mission and vision. With tireless service and a profound belief in the potential of every child, she shaped our community, instilling values of resilience, innovation, and compassion.”

Often, her professional life and service to her church overlapped, both embedded in a divine calling. She believed work and ministry deserved every ounce of smarts and imagination God had given her.

Sunday school lessons, youth group openers, Mission Friends crafts, church council meetings, pastor search committee work — whatever the project, it got her best ideas and conscientious follow-through. It was no surprise to find her down on the floor playing games, creating artwork, reading Bible stories, each activity pointing to Jesus as Hope and Salvation. A generation of children, teenagers, parents, and staff members at churches in Victoria, Clear Lake, and Missouri City were reminded of the love of Christ because she shared her gifts with a servant heart.

With sadness, yet hope in Jesus, the Waters family gives thanks for our beloved Joan (MeMe) and the many ways she loved and cared for those around her.

A memorial service to celebrate God’s goodness and Joan’s life will be held at Sienna Community Church in Missouri City on Saturday, February 7 at 10 a.m. A reception will follow next door at Harvest Methodist Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages that memorial gifts be directed to Generation One Academy at generationone.net/donate.