Obituary of Donald Davis
Donald (Don) Carlton Davis, 78 a loving husband, father, grandfather friend, mentor, business and civic leader passed away on January 27, 2019. He is survived by his loving wife Kelly Davis, Daughters Debra Altman and Dana Fields, Sons Dax Davis, Jim Ledterman, and John Ledterman, and step-children Jarrett and Kaitlin Booher. He was preceded in death by his parents Kenneth and Maxine Davis and his sister Kay Tackett.
Don was born July 13, 1940 in Muskogee Oklahoma and grew up in Tulsa Oklahoma. Don graduated from Edison Preparatory School in 1958 where he lettered in basketball and football. He went on to attend Oklahoma State University where he became a member of the Beta Theta Phi Fraternity, majored in Personnel Management and Marketing and graduated in 1962. After college Don went into the Army where he achieved the rank of Captain in the Medical Services Corp. Upon leaving military service, Don began his much-loved career with IBM where he worked for twenty-five years. While with IBM, Don received the highest recognition for outstanding sales, the Golden Circle award nine times. He retired at the level of regional manager with eight states reporting to him. Don was always quick to say he “bled blue”.
Don’s parents instilled a strong sense of community service in their children and throughout Don’s life he exemplified service above self through a wide range of volunteer work. He served on the Board of Directors for the United Way, Denver Chamber of Commerce, Denver Symphony and Boy Scouts of America. Don was a reserve police officer in both Upper Saddle River New Jersey and Colleyville Texas. He spent time mentoring and coaching young entrepreneurs through his volunteer work with SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) and the Fort Worth Women’s Small Business Administration. Don was a Mason for forty-eight years, a Little League Football Coach for fifteen years, a member of the Colleyville Citizens Police Academy Association and the Colleyville Lions Club for twenty-seven years. Don was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship award, the highest form of recognition to acknowledge an individual’s dedication to humanitarian service, by his fellow Lions. He was also awarded the Colleyville Mayor’s Community Service Award in recognition of extraordinary service to the community.
Most of all Don will be remembered for his powerful presence, love of life, adventure, family, and friends. Don loved to travel, race motorcycles, racing his corvette, hunting and competitive shooting. He was incredibly generous and always helped the people he cared about.
The Family would like to thank Dr. Vikas Aurora and his medical team for their help and support during Don’s illness. Thank you also to Vitas Healthcare for the wonderful care they provided.
Don and Kelly are members of White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake Texas where the service will be held on Friday February 1, 2019 at noon. A reception will be held at the church after the service.
The family wishes to express their gratitude and appreciation to their friends for all their support and prayers. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The Colleyville Lions Club @DNA, Inc. P.O. Box 820895 North Richland Hill, Texas 76182 or Longhorn Council, BSA, P.O. Box 54190, Hurst Texas 76054.
