|
| |
Services for B.L. Davis, 91, of Waco, Texas were held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 7, at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, Waco. Interment was held at Waco Memorial Park.
Born October 24, 1918 in Murchison, Texas, he died Friday, July 2, 2010 after a long courageous battle with cancer.
Mr. Davis grew up on a cotton farm near Chillicothe, Texas and volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1938 at the age of 16. He was honorably discharged in 1940. Mr. Davis met the love of his life, Mary Ellan Gause in Abilene, Texas and they were married on March 29, 1941. She preceded him in death on July 29, 2003. They were married for 62 years at the time of her passing.
Mr. Davis was drafted back into the U.S. Army in 1942 serving as Drill Instructor at Fort Knox, Kentucky from 1942 to 1944. Sergeant Davis was ordered to the European Theater in May of 1944 and served until the end of the war in 1945. He served with valor as a tank commander in the Tenth Army. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Relief of Bastogne, was seriously wounded on April 18, 1945 and was listed as missing in action. When the war ended, Sgt. Davis was still hospitalized in Nancy, France. He was awarded the Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars and one Oak Leaf Cluster for his service in combat. He returned to the USA on a hospital ship during Christmas of 1945.
Mr. Davis surrendered to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1951 at Summit Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas. He earned a bachelor�s degree from Howard Payne University and a doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He served as pastor at Brooke Smith Baptist Church, Rocky Creek Baptist Church near Brownwood, Texas, East Cisco Baptist Church, First Baptist Church Seagraves, Texas, First Baptist Church Hereford, Texas, Alum Rock Baptist Church San Jose, California, San Jacinto Baptist Church, Amarillo and part-time pastor at Falconhead Chapel in Marietta. He was the director of the Amarillo Baptist Association from 1975 through 1986. During this time he served as chairman of two citywide crusades for Amarillo. Mr. Davis helped break ground for High Plains Baptist Hospital and served as a trustee for nine years. He led and preached the gospel in several worldwide crusades, the Philippines in 1963 and 1968, Encounter California in 1967, Japan in 1972, Seoul, Korea in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1984, Racife, Brazil in 1981, 1982 and 1985, and Paris, France in 1976. Mr. Davis also led two area-wide Latin American Crusades in Hereford, Texas. He retired from full-time ministry on December 31, 1986. Mr. Davis moved to Waco in July 1998 and was a member of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church at the time of his death.
Survivors include his children, Dian Taylor and husband, Don of Waco, Mike Davis and wife, Mary Kay of Austin; sister, Mary Frances Ward of Amarillo; grandchildren, Doak Taylor an wife, Pam of McKinney, Texas, Doug Taylor and wife, Katherine of Aura, Uganda, Davis Taylor and wife, Cortney of San Antonio, Texas, Evaney Priolo and husband, George of Amarillo, Scottie Austin; and great-grandchildren, Peyton, Holden, Dillon, Haven and Canyon Taylor, Kylie, Karis and Caleb Taylor, Kristlyn, Bryce, Mia and Kendall Taylor, Olivia Kirk, Hartley and Presley Davis, and Greyson and Ireland McGill.
He was also preceded in death by his parents and a daughter, Dixie Lee Davis in 1944.
This obituary included a picture of Mr. Davis.
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.