James Harrison Davis

Jim is survived by his loving wife of 51 years, Betty Brown Davis; his daughters and sons-in-law, Debra Ann Davis Robinson and Charles Frank Robinson, Catherine Roberta Davis Bell and Jacob L. Bell, Jr. and Nancy Dalton Davis Keely and John Keely; his grandchildren, Hannah Elliott Robinson, Harrison Davis Robinson, Ryan Elizabeth Robinson, Tyler Virginia Robinson, Carson Roberta Bell, and Jacob L. Bell, III, all of Houston, Texas; and by his brother-in-law, Robert H. Brown and wife Jeanne of Austin. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan J. Davis of Houston and by his brother, Morgan Jefferson Davis, Jr. also of Houston.

Born on the 26th March 1935 in Roswell, New Mexico, Jim was brought to Houston in 1936 by his parents. He was educated at The Kinkaid School in Houston, the New Mexico Military Institute and Washington & Lee University where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Upon graduation from Washington & Lee, he attended graduate school at The University of Texas, where he earned his Master’s Degree in Geology in 1960. Jim then embarked on a career in oil and gas exploration where he was a geologist with the Humble Oil and Refining Company (later Exxon Corporation) for 16 years. He then was a Vice President with First City Bank, but soon returned to oil and gas exploration when he joined Brock Petroleum and later started Mahada Energy where he was President. Jim was a member of the Houston Geological Society, the American Institute of Professional Geologists, the Geological Society of America and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. He was also a member of The Houston Country Club, Allegro, Paul Jones and the Cherokee Nation. Jim also served on many boards including The Museum of Natural Science and was an honorary member of The Garden Club of Houston. He loved Sunday dinners with his family, “making sawdust” in his workshop, multiple generations of summer camp closings and his extensive group of friends.

Memorial service, to celebrate a life well lived, is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, the 6th of December, at Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Avenue in Houston, where Jim served as an altar boy in his youth. The Rev. Edward L. Stein, Canon Precentor, is to officiate.

In lieu of customary remembrances, those wishing to make donations may do so to the University of Texas at Austin Endowment Legacy Project, Morgan J. Davis Centennial Chair in Petroleum Geology, University Development Office, P.O. Box 7458, Austin, TX, 78713; or the charity of one’s choice.