Bessie Davis

Bessie Marian Davis died Sunday, August 19, 2012, in Durango, Colo. She was 86.

Bessie was born in Columbia, S.C., on April 5, 1926, to Walter Eugene and Annie Belle Elizabeth (Harrison) Harris. She was the youngest of six children and graduated from Columbia High School. She met her future husband, George Davis, in Sunday school, and they were married in Columbia, S.C., on June 30, 1943. Mr. Davis was stationed at Fort Jackson during World War II. Two children, Melba Ann and Barbara Lee, were born while they were in South Carolina; in 1948 the family moved to George’s home community of Falfa, Colo. Three more children were born: George, Jr., Elizabeth and Robbie. In 1955 the Davis’s purchased property near the Florida River and moved the family into a railroad section house. Bessie read to the children by the light of a kerosene lantern. Several years later indoor plumbing and electricity were added.

Bessie served as a leader of Juvenile Grange and she and her husband were active Grange members. She taught Sunday school at Florida Presbyterian Church. At times she worked at the local Coke plant, Mercy Hospital, and Grants and Montgomery Ward department stores. She retired from working in 1973. Spoiling grandchildren became one of her favorite pastimes. In November of 2001, she lost her husband of 58 years, George. In January of 2003, she had a stroke and moved in with Elizabeth and her family in Pagosa Springs. Melba Ann retired in 2005 so she could take care of her mother, and Bessie was able to move back into her home on Florida Mesa. In the following years, Bessie had two more strokes. After the last major one in 2009, she preferred to ride in her wheelchair. She died peacefully at home in the company of her daughter Elizabeth, son Robbie, and daughter- in-law Karen on August 19, 2012.

Bessie was the Colorado State whistling champion in the early 1970’s and would constantly whistle when she was selling material at Grants and Wards. She also enjoyed gardening, sewing, crocheting, and making Ojos de Dios. She enjoyed taking Polaroid photos of her friends and family. She loved traveling, and according to her children, her first name should have been “Go.” Throughout her life, she would pack up all five kids and drive the 2,000 miles to visit her family in South Carolina. Fortunately for the family, Melba Ann and Barbara Lee became very good map readers, which cut down interesting side trips due to Bessie’s sense of direction. She had a vibrant personality and enjoyed meeting people. Anyone with a baby was a magnet for her. She loved to give Disney dollars to children that she would meet and sometimes she would give them to adults. In her later years, she enjoyed sitting on the bench at Wal Mart and meeting and talking to people. She also enjoyed sitting on her front porch, listening to her many wind chimes, and watching the world go by.

She is preceded in death by her father, Walter Eugene Harris, mother, Annie Belle Elizabeth Harris, brothers Francis Eugene Harris and Walter Eugene Harris, Jr., and sister Melba Ruth Corley.

She is survived by her children: Melba Ann Davis of Durango, Barbara Lee (John) Glass of Monte Vista, Colo., George E. Davis, Jr. of Durango, Elizabeth K. (Mike) Reid of Pagosa Springs, Colo., and Robbie (Karen) Davis of Durango; sister Elizabeth Harris Larson of West Columbia, S.C., brother Archibald Thomas (Doris) Harris of Round Lake, Ill., nine grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews and cousins.

A funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 25, 2012, at Hood Mortuary Chapel in Durango. Burial will occur at Florida Cemetery in Durango.