Paul F. Davis

Corvallis Gazette-Times, January 24, 2004

Dec. 4, 1923 - Jan. 21, 2004

Paul F. Davis of Corvallis died Wednesday after a long battle with strokes and related dementia. He was 80.

He was born in West Plains, Mo., to John S. Davis and Mary L. Endicott Davis, and graduated from high school there in 1939, at the age of 16. He received a bachelor's degree in education from Southwest Missouri State Teachers College in 1942, a bachelor's in divinity from Emory University in Georgia in 1945, a doctorate in philosophy from Boston University in 1949 and a master's from Oregon State University in 1967.

He married Crystalle H. Huber on July 29, 1950, in Ypsilanti, Mich., and they moved to North Carolina, where he served as a Methodist minister. In 1952, he moved to Dallas and taught at the high school there. In 1964, he moved to Corvallis, where he taught English, social studies, international relations and family life at Corvallis High School until his retirement in 1985.

He was active in politics, serving as a precinct committeeman and as a Corvallis City Council member from November 1978 to January 1982. He was presented with the American Civil Liberties Award and the City of Corvallis Martin Luther King Jr. Citizen Memorial Award. He and his wife sponsored several foreign students throughout their marriage.

He was an active member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) for many years.

Survivors include his wife; daughters, Martha Davis of Chicago and Joy Ragsdale of Corvallis; grandchildren, Michael and Lisa Ragsdale of Corvallis; and sisters, Dorothy Bussell of Albuquerque, N.M., and Hazel Garrett of Tucson, Ariz. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Homer and Hasker.

A service will be held at 10 am Saturday, Feb 7, at CH2M Hill Alumni Center. A reception will follow. DeMoss-Durdan Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Memorial donations can be made to UNICEF, American Friends Service Committee or any other charity.

Thank you to Rose Westwood Merrick