Glen Wilson Davis' Obituary
After living his life to its fullest, Glen Davis passed away on June 11th 2023. He was enveloped in love until his last breath.
Glen was born and raised in the Memphis State area. He was a proud Messick Panther for all 12 years of school. He was on the All Memphis Team his senior year of high school. Many friends recall him being the “bride,” in the football team’s Womanless Wedding and his infamous ape mask that terrorized a few Memphians back in the day. He has maintained lifelong friendships with many Messick classmates.
Glen graduated from MSU in 1966, after which he started a teaching career that lasted over 50 years. He taught Manufacturing Engineering at MSU for 34 years. He was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award twice during his tenure. Following his retirement from U of M, he took up the position of technician in the physics department at Rhodes College, where he worked with students and faculty on various projects. Shortly before his retirement, the physics lab at Rhodes was named in his honor. Glen’s passion was inspiring and coaching each student to strive for greatness and reach their potential. Through his many years as an educator, he made some deep and lasting friendships.Those dear friends continue to be an important part of his family.
Glen met the love of his life, Jo Shirley, when he was 14 years old. He was her paperboy, and he had to plan his collection rounds to end at her home, because she couldn’t bear to let him go. Throughout their lives, they were rarely apart. During their 66 years together, they were blessed to raise two daughters, Dory and Kathy. Glen’s daughters followed in his footsteps to become teachers.
Glen had two brothers. Walter, his older brother by a year, and Dennis, who came along ten years later. Walter married Jo’s sister, Peggy, and the two couples have been one another’s constant companions throughout their lives.
Dory and her husband, Geoffrey, have two daughters, Katherine (29), and Elizabeth (27). Kathy and her husband, Gary, have two sons, Zachary (17) and Joshua (15). He encouraged them to pursue the arts, and he enjoyed listening to them singing and playing music.
At 6’6”, Glen was a BIG man. His friends called him. “Big D.” Big D had big hands, an infectious laugh, endless charisma, a fantastic sense of humor, and a great big heart of gold.
A Memorial Service for Mr. Davis will be held on June 16, 2023 at 1:00pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home in the Riverside Chapel. Visitation will be held an hour prior to service starting at 12:00pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations to a charity of your choice would be appreciated.
Glen's grandsons are members of the Arlington Band Program. If you would like to direct your donation to their program, please follow this link.
Address:
Arlington HS Band Booster's Association
P.O. Box 401
Arlington, TN 38002
PayPal: [email protected]
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