Sarah Watson

Jane grew up in Pearsall, Texas, where she developed a love for horses, and when she got a horse of her own - a retired quarter horse from her aunt and uncle's cattle ranch - she rode it through town every day, so everyone in Pearsall knew her. She also competed in barrel racing, but never won because she refused to use spurs. After graduating from Pearsall High School, Jane attended Southwest Texas State Teachers College and graduated with a BS in Education from the University of Texas in 1951. Immediately following graduation, Jane enlisted in the Womens Medical Specialist Corps of the US Air Force and served as 2nd Lieutenant at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, where she learned about the healing powers of physical therapy and received her certification as a physical therapist.

Jane became a licensed physical therapist and began her career in San Antonio at the Cerebral Palsy Center, where she worked as a pediatric physical therapist for about three decades. She was an inventive and dedicated therapist, recognizing the special needs and creating a unique therapy for every child in her care. She never stopped researching, and was constantly looking for the best way to maximize the physical and mental benefits of physical therapy for each patient. She was always looking for a toy she had in mind for a specific child, or she would be constructing an apparatus to help a child perform simple tasks. She employed everything she knew and every resource she had to improve the life of every child she treated. In 1982, a long-time dream of hers became a reality when she organized San Antonio's first horseback riding therapy sessions at Brackenridge Stables for severely handicapped children. In 1986 she was presented with the Ruby Decker Award for Outstanding Physical Therapist by the Texas Physical Therapy Association in recognition of her outstanding work. Also in the 1980's Jane became an independent contractor for various local school districts and health care organizations and traveled all over South-Central Texas to provide physical therapy to children in need. In a few cases, when daily therapy was crucial for a child, she would even keep the child in her own home until she could make some progress with his therapy.

Jane was a very independent woman who always lived alone, just far enough from the city to be able to keep a horse or two. She not only owned horses; she probably took in every stray cat and dog that ever showed up at her doorstep, and she never ran out of corn to feed the deer that gathered in her yard every evening. Jane loved to travel and loved her family, and coordinated many summer vacations with family and friends. On her trips she often collected western paintings, and she could always find art in nature, collecting an unusual assortment of rock and wood specimens. Most of all, Jane was generous to a fault, especially after she became an independent contractor, because she refused to collect payment for her services from families she felt could not afford it.