John H. Davis' Obituary
John H. Davis, 87, died Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at his residence. Mr. Davis was born to the late Max and Maude Davis in Ninety Six, SC in 1927.
After graduating from Ninety Six High School, he joined the Navy where he spent 3 months aboard the USS Missouri and 17 months in the Pacific aboard the USS Tarawa, an aircraft carrier.
He attended Furman University in Greenville, SC where he majored in Physical Education and minored in History. At Furman he met and married Joyce Coggins. Shortly after their marriage, he was called into service. He served in the US Army and as a 1st Lt., he commanded a tank platoon in Korea.
Shortly after his release from service, he spent 2 and half years as Director of Recreation for the City of Darlington, SC. He then spent one year in New York where he attended Columbia University, receiving a Master’s Degree in Physical Education. While studying at Columbia, he spent some time teaching and coaching baseball at City College.
Mr. Davis then accepted a position as Superintendent of Recreation for the City of Dalton, GA. In this new setting he set a high standard for recreation programming, Dalton being recognized as the most outstanding program in the state. Here, as in Darlington, he was recognized as Young Man of the Year. The major recreation center bears his name.
For almost 10 years Mr. Davis was the Executive Director of the Georgia Recreation Commission, a state agency charged with the responsibility of promoting recreation. They helped to establish 52 park and recreation systems in cities and counties.
After being cited for outstanding work by Gov. Jimmy Carter, Mr. Davis moved to Virginia. He became Director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. He then served for 10 years as Director of the National Recreation and Park Association. He was the recipient of the prestigious PUGSLEY MEDAL and honored to be the first recipient inducted into Hall of Fame in Georgia. He was very active in various youth groups and boys clubs and proudly presented awards for youth sports. Mr. Davis was also the recipient of the Distinguished Professional award.
Mr. Davis and his wife, Joyce moved to Culpeper upon his retirement. Both of them were members of Culpeper Baptist Church and in later life, he was an active member of W.P. Lewis Sunday School Class.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce Davis; three children, Kathryn Maley of Olney, MD, Rebecca Sue Lotane of Rixeyville and John Samuel Davis of Sterling, VA; and seven grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held on Monday, January 12, 2015 at 11 am at Found and Sons Funeral Chapel, 850 Sperryville Pike, Culpeper, VA with Pastor Dan Carlton officiating. The family will receive friends two hours prior to the service.
Interment will follow in Culpeper National Cemetery with military honors provided by Culpeper VFW Post 2524.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to Culpeper Food Closet, PO Box 343, Culpeper, VA 22701 &/or Pregnancy Center of Central Virginia, 420 Sunset Lane, Culpeper, VA 22701.
Found and Sons Funeral Chapel of Culpeper is serving the family.
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