Funeral services for Dorothy Leonard Davis, 93, former resident of Indianola, MS, will be at 11:00 am, December 29, 2018, at First Baptist Church of Indianola. She passed away following a long period of illness on December 26, 2018, at Hospice Ministries, Ridgeland, MS, in the presence of family and friends. Burial will be at Indianola City Cemetery under the direction of Boone-Card Funeral Home.
Mother was born on August 19, 1925, in Rochester, Texas. Her father’s employment as a highway engineer took the family from Texas to Oklahoma and then to Colorado. She spent her formative years in Denver, and after high school graduation she entered Colorado Women’s College. She met her future husband, Walter Fred Davis, at a USO dance in Denver. Correspondence continued their friendship and blossoming love during Mr. Davis’s time in the World War II Pacific Theater. They were married on January 27, 1946, in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Mother and Daddy moved to Dallas, Texas, where our dad enrolled at Southern Methodist University. However, his own father’s illness brought our parents to his home town of Indianola, MS. Mother undertook various employments over the next several years while raising our family and helping care for our grandmother and aunt. In the late 1950’s she began working as a secretary for the Mississippi State Extension Service and retired after almost 30 years of this employment.
Mother was devoted as wife and mother and in many other family relationships and friendships. She was a committed Christian who gladly served as a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church, Indianola, for over 50 years. Her years of service in this and other ministries expressed loving attention to those whom she taught and friendship and deep affection for many others whom she mentored and encouraged. If you were one of those young people, you still remember the positive impact she had upon you.
In addition, our mother was blessed throughout her life with many other special relationships. She and Daddy had a large kitchen table that was always welcoming to young and old. They “adopted” several of these folks over the decades and they became like family.
Mother’s joy was rooted in the knowledge of our Lord as her Savior and in the privilege of teaching from God’s Word. Vivid pictures of Mother come to mind at this time of her death: sitting at her kitchen table with her Bible before her while diligently preparing a Sunday School lesson; surveying the results of her labor in her yard while leaning on a rake; and leaning out the backdoor with waving hand to welcome someone or to bid them good bye.
After residing in Indianola for sixty-four years, our parents moved to Madison, MS, in June of 2012, to be nearer our family. After Daddy’s death in February 2014, Mother spent her next years teaching us how to deal with advancing age and progressive impairments. The providence of God throughout such difficulties was often made evident to all of us. Her last two months were spent at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland, MS, as extended illness came to a peaceful and blessed conclusion.
Mother was preceded in death by her parents, Catherine Greer Leonard Fox and John William Leonard, and her brother, John Emmett Leonard. She is survived by her daughter, Miss Cynthia Anne “Cindy” Davis, Jackson, MS, and son, Dr. Michael Lee “Mike” Davis (Clarissa), Vicksburg, MS, and grandchildren Eleana Michele Davis and Evana Davis Bock (Charles) and great granddaughter Joanna. Also, surviving her are her sister, Cathy Fox Hoehne, sister-in-law, Illa Leonard, four nephews, one niece, and other very special “adopted family members” that go back years and years and were so dearly loved. Cindy and Mike especially acknowledge the steadfast support and loving attention rendered by Ann Webb and Monica Kelly over the course of many years.
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills-From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121: 1, 2
The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, Indianola, MS 38751, or Hospice Ministries, 450 Towne Center Blvd., Ridgeland, MS 39157. We would like to express our appreciation to all of those who participated in her care in the recent years, especially Dr. Gerry Ann Houston and the staff of Hospice Ministries.