Gordon Lee Davis, age 85, was born in Harrisonville, Baltimore County, Maryland 01 January 1930. He was the eldest child and only son of George William Davis, Sr. and Ida Lurene Ridgely Davis. He was of hearty pioneer stock with generational ties to places like Jamestown and very early immigrants to this country on vessels such as the Mayflower of Plymouth and the Ark and the Dove of Saint Mary’s, Maryland. His birthright included the title of “Count of the Holy Roman Empire,” bestowed by warrant upon his 10th Great Grandfather, Thomas “The Valient” Arundel Howard by Emperor Rudolph II of Germany in 1605.
Too young to enlist for World War II, he joined the Army in 1946 and was sent to Airborne training with the 101st Airborne Division, where he broke both ankles in a hard parachute landing on a barbed wire fence, and was reassigned to Occupation duty where Sergeant Davis supervised a hundred Japanese craftsmen and other specialists to maintain the public buildings of Osaka, Japan. He was also part of that mad scramble into Korea with the 25th Infantry Division, where he was sent to blow up bridges behind enemy lines in the very early days in order to slow the advance of the Chinese through South Korea.
He served one full enlistment and returned to Maryland a convalescing hand grenade casualty in 1952. He worked a number of jobs in a very difficult post-war economy. A few of these included shoveling manure on a mushroom farm, welding at Westinghouse Corporation (where he met his wife, who worked in the main office), and as a deliveryman for Bugle Linen Supply, Inc. He moved his young family from Baltimore to Hagerstown and managed the new office for Bugle.
Always the entrepreneur, from the early 1950’s Gordon owned and operated the Tastee Freez Restaurant in Chewsville, Maryland which became Gordon’s Drive-In Restaurant and the Tastee Catering Service, for 15 years. He owned the Express Printing and Copy Center for 25 years. He was a Beekeeper for 45 years, with his businesses Antietam Bee Supply and Bee Tree Farms, Inc. , producing large volumes of honey, which he and Ruth sold at various craft fairs. He also drove for Fujicolor Photo Express for eight years, receiving an award for over 400,000 accident-free miles and the Northeast Region’s Driver of the Year for 1998.
A born-again Christian from an early age, he was best known for the various positions he held, including that of Deacon at Wayside Baptist Church and Evangel Baptist Church.
He is preceded in death by both parents and his only sister, Charlotte May Davis Staben, formerly of Ellicott City, Maryland. He is survived by his wife of almost sixty-two years, Ruth Victoria Scherrer Davis, and six children: Glen Lee Davis (wife Nancy) of Fredericksburg, Virginia; Daniel Harold Davis (wife Mary Ann) of Athens, Tennessee; George William Davis [II] (wife Vicky) of Mount Airy, Maryland; Victoria May Davis of Hagerstown; Linda Lurene Davis Kaste (husband Christopher) of Merrillville, Indiana; and Bette Lou Davis Evans (husband Thomas), also of Hagerstown, Maryland. He is also survived by 11 grand children and 6 great grandchildren.
Viewings will be held on Sunday, 15 February at the Coffman Funeral Home on Antietam Street from 2:00pm – 4:00pm and again from 7:00pm – 9:00pm. Services will be held at 1:00pm on Monday, 16 February at the Evangel Baptist Church on Broadfording Road in Hagerstown followed by interment with a short graveside service in Cedar Lawn Memorial Park, 17636 West Washington Street, Hagerstown.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to either Evangel Baptist Church http://evangelbaptistch.com/ or the Hospice of Washington County http://hospiceofwc.org/donate/
Too young to enlist for World War II, he joined the Army in 1946 and was sent to Airborne training with the 101st Airborne Division, where he broke both ankles in a hard parachute landing on a barbed wire fence, and was reassigned to Occupation duty where Sergeant Davis supervised a hundred Japanese craftsmen and other specialists to maintain the public buildings of Osaka, Japan. He was also part of that mad scramble into Korea with the 25th Infantry Division, where he was sent to blow up bridges behind enemy lines in the very early days in order to slow the advance of the Chinese through South Korea.
He served one full enlistment and returned to Maryland a convalescing hand grenade casualty in 1952. He worked a number of jobs in a very difficult post-war economy. A few of these included shoveling manure on a mushroom farm, welding at Westinghouse Corporation (where he met his wife, who worked in the main office), and as a deliveryman for Bugle Linen Supply, Inc. He moved his young family from Baltimore to Hagerstown and managed the new office for Bugle.
Always the entrepreneur, from the early 1950’s Gordon owned and operated the Tastee Freez Restaurant in Chewsville, Maryland which became Gordon’s Drive-In Restaurant and the Tastee Catering Service, for 15 years. He owned the Express Printing and Copy Center for 25 years. He was a Beekeeper for 45 years, with his businesses Antietam Bee Supply and Bee Tree Farms, Inc. , producing large volumes of honey, which he and Ruth sold at various craft fairs. He also drove for Fujicolor Photo Express for eight years, receiving an award for over 400,000 accident-free miles and the Northeast Region’s Driver of the Year for 1998.
A born-again Christian from an early age, he was best known for the various positions he held, including that of Deacon at Wayside Baptist Church and Evangel Baptist Church.
He is preceded in death by both parents and his only sister, Charlotte May Davis Staben, formerly of Ellicott City, Maryland. He is survived by his wife of almost sixty-two years, Ruth Victoria Scherrer Davis, and six children: Glen Lee Davis (wife Nancy) of Fredericksburg, Virginia; Daniel Harold Davis (wife Mary Ann) of Athens, Tennessee; George William Davis [II] (wife Vicky) of Mount Airy, Maryland; Victoria May Davis of Hagerstown; Linda Lurene Davis Kaste (husband Christopher) of Merrillville, Indiana; and Bette Lou Davis Evans (husband Thomas), also of Hagerstown, Maryland. He is also survived by 11 grand children and 6 great grandchildren.
Viewings will be held on Sunday, 15 February at the Coffman Funeral Home on Antietam Street from 2:00pm – 4:00pm and again from 7:00pm – 9:00pm. Services will be held at 1:00pm on Monday, 16 February at the Evangel Baptist Church on Broadfording Road in Hagerstown followed by interment with a short graveside service in Cedar Lawn Memorial Park, 17636 West Washington Street, Hagerstown.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to either Evangel Baptist Church http://evangelbaptistch.com/ or the Hospice of Washington County http://hospiceofwc.org/donate/
Gordon Lee Davis, age 85, was born in Harrisonville, Baltimore County, Maryland 01 January 1930. He was the eldest child and only son of George William Davis, Sr. and Ida Lurene Ridgely Davis. He was of hearty pioneer stock with generational ties to places like Jamestown and very early immigrants to this country on vessels such as the Mayflower of Plymouth and the Ark and the Dove of Saint Mary’s, Maryland. His birthright included the title of “Count of the Holy Roman Empire,” bestowed by warrant upon his 10th Great Grandfather, Thomas “The Valient” Arundel Howard by Emperor Rudolph II of Germany in 1605.
Too young to enlist for World War II, he joined the Army in 1946 and was sent to Airborne training with the 101st Airborne Division, where he broke both ankles in a hard parachute landing on a barbed wire fence, and was reassigned to Occupation duty where Sergeant Davis supervised a hundred Japanese craftsmen and other specialists to maintain the public buildings of Osaka, Japan. He was also part of that mad scramble into Korea with the 25th Infantry Division, where he was sent to blow up bridges behind enemy lines in the very early days in order to slow the advance of the Chinese through South Korea.
He served one full enlistment and returned to Maryland a convalescing hand grenade casualty in 1952. He worked a number of jobs in a very difficult post-war economy. A few of these included shoveling manure on a mushroom farm, welding at Westinghouse Corporation (where he met his wife, who worked in the main office), and as a deliveryman for Bugle Linen Supply, Inc. He moved his young family from Baltimore to Hagerstown and managed the new office for Bugle.
Always the entrepreneur, from the early 1950’s Gordon owned and operated the Tastee Freez Restaurant in Chewsville, Maryland which became Gordon’s Drive-In Restaurant and the Tastee Catering Service, for 15 years. He owned the Express Printing and Copy Center for 25 years. He was a Beekeeper for 45 years, with his businesses Antietam Bee Supply and Bee Tree Farms, Inc. , producing large volumes of honey, which he and Ruth sold at various craft fairs. He also drove for Fujicolor Photo Express for eight years, receiving an award for over 400,000 accident-free miles and the Northeast Region’s Driver of the Year for 1998.
A born-again Christian from an early age, he was best known for the various positions he held, including that of Deacon at Wayside Baptist Church and Evangel Baptist Church.
He is preceded in death by both parents and his only sister, Charlotte May Davis Staben, formerly of Ellicott City, Maryland. He is survived by his wife of almost sixty-two years, Ruth Victoria Scherrer Davis, and six children: Glen Lee Davis (wife Nancy) of Fredericksburg, Virginia; Daniel Harold Davis (wife Mary Ann) of Athens, Tennessee; George William Davis [II] (wife Vicky) of Mount Airy, Maryland; Victoria May Davis of Hagerstown; Linda Lurene Davis Kaste (husband Christopher) of Merrillville, Indiana; and Bette Lou Davis Evans (husband Thomas), also of Hagerstown, Maryland. He is also survived by 11 grand children and 6 great grandchildren.
Viewings will be held on Sunday, 15 February at the Coffman Funeral Home on Antietam Street from 2:00pm – 4:00pm and again from 7:00pm – 9:00pm. Services will be held at 1:00pm on Monday, 16 February at the Evangel Baptist Church on Broadfording Road in Hagerstown followed by interment with a short graveside service in Cedar Lawn Memorial Park, 17636 West Washington Street, Hagerstown.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to either Evangel Baptist Church http://evangelbaptistch.com/ or the Hospice of Washington County http://hospiceofwc.org/donate/
Too young to enlist for World War II, he joined the Army in 1946 and was sent to Airborne training with the 101st Airborne Division, where he broke both ankles in a hard parachute landing on a barbed wire fence, and was reassigned to Occupation duty where Sergeant Davis supervised a hundred Japanese craftsmen and other specialists to maintain the public buildings of Osaka, Japan. He was also part of that mad scramble into Korea with the 25th Infantry Division, where he was sent to blow up bridges behind enemy lines in the very early days in order to slow the advance of the Chinese through South Korea.
He served one full enlistment and returned to Maryland a convalescing hand grenade casualty in 1952. He worked a number of jobs in a very difficult post-war economy. A few of these included shoveling manure on a mushroom farm, welding at Westinghouse Corporation (where he met his wife, who worked in the main office), and as a deliveryman for Bugle Linen Supply, Inc. He moved his young family from Baltimore to Hagerstown and managed the new office for Bugle.
Always the entrepreneur, from the early 1950’s Gordon owned and operated the Tastee Freez Restaurant in Chewsville, Maryland which became Gordon’s Drive-In Restaurant and the Tastee Catering Service, for 15 years. He owned the Express Printing and Copy Center for 25 years. He was a Beekeeper for 45 years, with his businesses Antietam Bee Supply and Bee Tree Farms, Inc. , producing large volumes of honey, which he and Ruth sold at various craft fairs. He also drove for Fujicolor Photo Express for eight years, receiving an award for over 400,000 accident-free miles and the Northeast Region’s Driver of the Year for 1998.
A born-again Christian from an early age, he was best known for the various positions he held, including that of Deacon at Wayside Baptist Church and Evangel Baptist Church.
He is preceded in death by both parents and his only sister, Charlotte May Davis Staben, formerly of Ellicott City, Maryland. He is survived by his wife of almost sixty-two years, Ruth Victoria Scherrer Davis, and six children: Glen Lee Davis (wife Nancy) of Fredericksburg, Virginia; Daniel Harold Davis (wife Mary Ann) of Athens, Tennessee; George William Davis [II] (wife Vicky) of Mount Airy, Maryland; Victoria May Davis of Hagerstown; Linda Lurene Davis Kaste (husband Christopher) of Merrillville, Indiana; and Bette Lou Davis Evans (husband Thomas), also of Hagerstown, Maryland. He is also survived by 11 grand children and 6 great grandchildren.
Viewings will be held on Sunday, 15 February at the Coffman Funeral Home on Antietam Street from 2:00pm – 4:00pm and again from 7:00pm – 9:00pm. Services will be held at 1:00pm on Monday, 16 February at the Evangel Baptist Church on Broadfording Road in Hagerstown followed by interment with a short graveside service in Cedar Lawn Memorial Park, 17636 West Washington Street, Hagerstown.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to either Evangel Baptist Church http://evangelbaptistch.com/ or the Hospice of Washington County http://hospiceofwc.org/donate/
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