Johnathon Ray Polston, 41 , from Lancaster, SC left peacefully in the company of his loving wife at 1:03pm on July 9th at MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center to go back home to the Lord and his loved ones in Heaven. He was born on July 2nd of 1985 in Columbia, SC. He is the son of late "John Ray Polston" and "Mary Lucy Polston" , the husband of "Amber Leona Polston (Cole)", the loving father of his two kids "Christian Ray Polston", "Riley Leona Polston", his 3 angel babies "Heartleigh Marie Polston", Emry Emersyn Polston", and "Aleah'belle Grace Polston "and the brother of " Joyce Marie Polston (Pablo Cancino)", "Thomas Lee Hinson", and his foster siblings "Jessie Reynolds", and "James Heyward Reynolds", and an uncle to " Jaime Hernandez Polston", "Isaac Hernandez Polston", "Moises Garcia Polston", "Destiny Marie Garcia", "Monica Lasha Garcia", "Enrique Ray-Lee Garcia", "Yasmine Michelle Eury", "Gabriella Renee Eury", "Alton Lee Lawrence Eury", "Macee Grace Eury", "Jaxten Nicholas Eury", "Scarlette Jade Cole", "Joshua Anthony McCoy", "Emmett Andrew McCoy", "Lillith Rayne McCoy", "Briana Leigh McCaston", "Lilly Rain McCaston", "James Gavean Reynolds", "Stefan Khole Reynolds", and "Noah Gabe Reynolds".

He his preceded in death by his father "John Ray Polston", his mentor & foster father "Charles Terry Reynolds", his mother'n'law "Melissa Eury Dinges", his angel babies "Heartleigh Marie Polston, Emry Emersyn Polston, & Aleah' belle Grace Polston".

Johnathon was a miracle child born with many health issues, his main one was spina bifida so he ended up becoming a patient of "Shriner's Children's Hospital" growing up and endured over 100 different surgeries and procedures, so he struggled to fight through every moment in life. He was a fighter and his father taught him never be dependent on anyone in life because of his disability. He learned how to endure many hardships and challenges in his life thanks to his father's strictness and teachings growing up, his own strength and willingness to get through every moment, and with the help of all of those who helped him at "Shriner's Children's Hospital", and with that, thus ended up growing up for the love to take on any challenge that he set his heart up on taking up. He refused to live upon being bullied, put down and pitied, and he worked his hardest to achieve each goal that he set for himself. He was a very giving man and often donated to many homeless people or those who were in need even if it was the last few dollars in his pocket. He was big on God and knew that these were some of the moments that God chose him to help. He inspired many people and they came to appreciate him for how he kept striving for the better in his condition and still changed many lives for the better.

He was a happy, strong, loving, caring, independent, person who enjoyed cracking jokes and making everyone around him laugh. He had a beautiful smile and a personality that lite the whole room when he entered. He worked his hardest to provide for his family and thus ended up working more than his health should have endured, and he always made work fun. He had many friends, family, and co-workers, and some of those who became family to him in his heart. His children were his whole world. They were his miracles that the doctors always told him he would never be able to have, and they made his world whole.

He loved spending time with his kids and loved ones. He enjoyed fishing, gaming and watching football; he was a Clemson and Falcon's. He always loved going to the beach although he only made it to the sand twice, but he loved watching his kids run across the sand, playing in the ocean every time because he always felt like he was out there with them. He loved grilling out on the grill by the fire with music playing while watching his kids laugh and play. He loved going out for long drives just to enjoy the scenery of nature and watching his wife do her artwork. All of these moments made his heart happy and peaceful.

Growing up, most of Johnathon's younger childhood years were spent in the care of foster care. During most of these years under their care he had endured and suffered through a lot of unimaginable things that a child should never have to endure as a child. He was mentally, emotionally, and physically beaten and bullied and much worse. The system failed him completely home after home after home. He had suffered from severe anxiety, PTSD, and depression but that never stopped him from believing in God and it never changed his bright personality. He kept his faith in God and continued to pray for hope, and it brought him to the mentor program where he met the Reynolds family. Slowly but surely, he began to trust. "Charles Terry Reynolds" gave him the fatherly love that he lost and needed as a child and "Jessie and James" treated him like a true sibling, not someone who was a temporary foster brother. They not only showed him love but gave him hope, laughter, and warmth. They gave him a family to call his own and even after he was old enough to sign himself out of the system, they stayed with his family until the very end.

Not long after signing himself out of the system in 2002, he went to a Halloween Event at his uncle's church and fell in love. Although he was 17 and was turned down 3 times, he never lost hope and kept trying and by November 23rd ,2002 he had started dating his first love "Amber". He was her middle school sweetheart and became a decan as well. She had talked him into going back to school, and they started going to Andrew Jackson High School together. Not longer after, he decided to juggle going to school and working at Walmart together. He started off at Lancaster Walmart. By 2009 he found out that was would soon become a father and added 2 more jobs under his belt and worked at Rock Hill Walmart on Dave Lyle Blvd, Paradise Studios, and Teen Mobile all at the same time to provide for their family until he became full-time at Walmart and also found the courage to find and contact his father after finding out he would soon be one. By February 7th,2010 he witnessed what the doctors always told him what he would never have. "Amber" gave birth to a '6lb'6oz' baby boy who shared his middle name as well as his paw paw's birthday and by August 30th,2011 his world was complete. His baby girl was born, and he was the happiest man alive, he had the best of both worlds.

Years later, he moved to Sanford, NC and transferred from Rock Hill Walmart to Sanford Walmart. He spent a total of 10 years at Walmart, and he loved it. He went from cashier to and electronics and not long spent most of his years in the cellular department setting up contracts, fixing phones and everything else that went along with it. In 2018 he suffered the loss of his angel baby "Emry Emersyn", then again in 2019 another loss to his angel baby "Aleah' belle Grace", by 2020 when covid hit he suffered the loss of watching his father die traumatically which drove him over the edge, his depression highly spiked as he was a daddy's boy growing up and he had come to talk to him over the years every day over the years that they had reconnected. Thus, causing him to hit rock bottom and drowning his sorrows in alcohol and isolating himself. He became someone no one knew and lost many family and friends. He struggled and struggled to quit and slowly he became better and on June 10th, 2023, he ended up finally marrying the love of his life.

In September of 2025 Johnathon moved back to Lancaster, SC with his family. Where had gotten the help that he needed from loved ones that were willing to help him with his hidden struggles that had only gotten worse. He went to the hospital, withdrawn off of alcohol , and started taking medication for his severe anxiety, PTSD, and depression, and started getting his life back on the right track but too soon, he ended up in the hospital where he ended up getting a biopsy where he had found out a month later that he had cancer. By December it was determined that surgery needed to be done immediately, and they rushed him to MUSC Chester hospital to the wound care unit where they did surgery 1st thing in the morning. They had high hopes that things would take a turn for the better after surgery but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. They took out everything they could take out, including bone, but with where his cancer "Squamous Cell Carcinoma" was located, it would have been too risky. At first there was a 10% chance of his cancer being deadly, but it was told that his infection would kill him sooner. He started chemo and radiation, but it got too much on him, and he could barely move and after a few treatments of both, It was all too much. After September he would end up being admitted into the hospital once a month; radiation and chemo were no more of an option for him. With his "Squamous Cell Carcinoma", along with osteomyelitis, and his infection, it made his cancer worse and his health rapidly decline. Pain medications and antibiotics did nothing for him, then he started being admitted in the hospital twice a month the last couple of months, the last time he was admitted into ICU but he kept fighting. He was a fighter, but he suffered more every day. He made it through to his last father's day and his 41st birthday, made his final wish, kept his last promise to his family, and left peacefully to go back home to the Lord and the rest of his love loved ones. He was and will continue to be loved and remembered by so many people. He will truly be missed and never forgotten through the many hearts that his life touched.

From the bottom of our hearts, we wish to extend our sincerest thanks and deepest gratitude for all of your honorary love, strength, and support during this time for Johnathon and his family. Having you all take him to his final resting place, I know it meant a great deal of love and importance to him to have you all send him off.

We also wish to thank everyone who helped us create this last beautiful memory for Johnathon as well and from everyone who gave us the love and strength to get by since his diagnosis of cancer. The love and support from you all, means more than you all know to our family during this time as well as to all of you who have entered his life giving it more meaning for him. Our hearts go out to you all as well.

The celebration of life service will be at 3:00 pm Friday at The Chapel of Burgess Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm, one hour prior to the service.

Burgess Funeral Home is honored to care for Johnathan Polston.