Cecil L. Davis

On July 30, 2012, Cecil Lamar Davis played his last hand of cards. In the early morning hours, he was invited to play one more game, but after looking at the hand he had been dealt and scanning the table in front of him, he decided it was time to fold, so he cashed in his chips and left the game for good. Cecil may have finally lost a game, but in fact he has won because his good works were many and varied and his reward eternal. Cecil was born in Athens, GA on June 2, 1934 to Corabel (Parr) and N.V. Davis. Although he and his older brother Tom spent part of their childhood in Newnan before moving to Griffin at the end of WWII, it is Griffin that Cecil always considered his home. Cecil’s earliest accomplishments were in leadership and sports, particularly football and track. He was a record setting high-hurdler and an all-city, all-state running back as a football letterman at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN, where he graduated in 1952. He received multiple football scholarship offers from universities across the southeast and ultimately committed to attend Georgia Tech. As a freshman, he played defensive back on Georgia Tech’s 1952 national championship team that went undefeated and won the Sugar Bowl. A year later, an untimely, but ultimately fortunate injury led Cecil to transfer to the University of Georgia where he joined the SAE fraternity, finished his studies and met Anne Stewart Morris, his devoted wife who has been by his side for 56 wonderful years. Cecil was a patriot as well as an athlete, so it was no surprise that he joined the army upon leaving UGA, and he and Stewart barely had time to get married before he was shipped off to Japan. Stewart quickly (and courageously) followed him to Tokyo, where they lived for two years while Cecil served in the army security agency. While living in Tokyo, Cecil and Stewart welcomed their daughter, Laura Ashley Davis, into their lives. After finishing up his tour of duty in Japan, Cecil left the army and he and Stewart moved to Atlanta, where he began a long career in the insurance business, but he was also able to indulge his passion for coin collecting by owning Lenox Stamp and Coin. Cecil and Stewart lived in Atlanta until 1969, when they moved to Griffin with Laura and her two brothers, Cecil Jr. and John Stewart, and it is here they have lived ever since. Although his college football career may have ended too soon, Cecil never lost his passion for sports, and he enjoyed many, many years of officiating high school football and coaching youth sports. During this time he coached several championship teams and athletes in soccer, football and basketball in Atlanta and Griffin. In fact, there were so many phone calls from his players that his family began calling him Coach Davis, too, and never stopped. Cecil was also very involved in his church, serving as both a Warden and lay reader at St. George’s Episcopal Church, and was quite active in his community. Cecil served as a city commissioner, a county commissioner and as mayor of Griffin. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the McIntosh Trail Association and a member of the Griffin Water Authority. Most of all, however, he was a part of Ducks Unlimited. Ducks Unlimited (or DU) is an international conservation organization that was Cecil’s other passion. As a volunteer, he was a member, life sponsor, Georgia state sponsor chairman, and Georgia state chairman. He was so passionate about DU and conservation that they finally hired him and he was the Regional Director for South Georgia for many years until he retired and became a volunteer once again. DU allowed him to contribute his time and energy to a worthy cause and also to hunt, fish and spend time with his friends. Cecil is survived by his wife, Stewart, children Laura Davis Clary (Marvin) of Atlanta, GA, Cecil Lamar Davis Jr. (Melissa) of Brentwood, TN and John Stewart Davis (Petrina) of Gibsons, British Columbia, and grandchildren William Milton Clary of Beijing, China and Vance William Davis and Lilly Frances Davis of Brentwood, TN. Funeral services for Mr. Cecil L. Davis will be conducted on Friday, August 3, 2012 at 11:00am at St. George’s Episcopal Church. The Reverend Nancy Shepherd will officiate. Visitation for the Davis family will follow in the Church Parlor. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Humane Society of Griffin-Spalding County, P.O. Box 758, Experiment, GA 30212 or to The Salvation Army, Griffin Chapter, 725 Meriwether Street, Griffin, GA 30224 or to a charity of your choice in memory of Mr. Davis.

Cecil L. Davis

June 2, 1934 - July 30, 2012