Beverly Ann Davis

June 15, 1940 – February 11, 2024

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

~Jeremiah 1:5

Beverly Ann Davis was born to Sam and Doris Davis in St. Louis, Missouri. She spent her early years on a couple of small farms in rural Missouri. Bev was the oldest, with three brothers born after her: Larry in 1943, Walter in 1945, and Eddie in 1951. In 1954, the family moved to Arizona, first to the Alamo mining district, where Alamo Lake State Park is today, and soon after settling in Phoenix. Bev grew to love the mountains and desert landscape of the American Southwest, and she made Phoenix home the rest of her life. Because her father was in big construction, Bev’s family moved often during her childhood. All the moves made it hard for Bev to meet friends in her youth. She turned to books for comfort and companionship and found a window to the world that she relished her whole life; she was always reading several books at once and read thousands over her lifetime, and not just fiction. Bev was so well-read across disciplines, it seemed in conversation as though she had advanced degrees in history, literature, and art history. She was drawn to Europe and traveled there throughout her life. She especially loved Italy, returning multiple times, learning Italian, and even living in Rome for a year as a young adult. Bev’s career path began, unsurprisingly, at the Phoenix Public Library. From there she moved into the Arizona court system, serving for decades as a judicial assistant in both trial and appellate courts. All with whom she worked spoke very highly of Bev. She was one who made the trains run on time, but she did it with perspective and good humor. Bev found spiritual life in 1964 when she attended a Billy Graham crusade at Sun Devil Stadium and accepted Christ as her Savior. She served in the church in many capacities throughout her life. For several years after she retired, she directed the kitchen ministry at Love Baptist Church, opening the doors weekly to provide meals and fellowship to those in need in the community. Bev was a very creative person and talented as an artist. She designed and built many miniature rooms over the years, often crafting much of the miniature art, furniture, pottery and textiles herself. Bev opted to remain single and independent her whole life, which was something of a departure for a woman of her era. She liked to joke that she had never needed to marry and have children because she’d already raised her youngest brother, Eddie. Despite her independence, she cherished and was very supportive of her family and friends. Bev was especially devoted as an aunt, and to the many pets that she rescued and loved over the years. She was kind and generous to many and gave to numerous charitable organizations. Bev was pre-deceased by, and is now happily reunited with, her parents and her brother Walter. She is survived by her brother Larry (his wife Janet and their children, Lynsay, David and Jennifer) and by her brother Ed (his wife Darcy and their children, Christine and Joy).

Memorial service will be held March 16, 10:30am at Love Baptist Church in Phoenix. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of the Valley or c/o Lottie Moon Missions at Love Baptist Church.