Genevieve "Ginny" Davis Lehman

Born in Caliente, Nevada on Feb. 10, 1922, she was the third child of Eula and Cory Davis. Her family returned to their hometown of Nixon, Texas before Ginny's first birthday. After graduating from Nixon High School in 1939, she moved to San Antonio, Texas where she attended San Antonio Business College. During WWII Ginny worked at Hughes Aircraft and volunteered for numerous USO support efforts. After the war she met the love of her life, Daniel Lehman. They married in 1951 and moved to Austin.

Ultimately they settled in the Westlake Hills, where they raised their two sons, David Cory and Mark. Ginny was very active in the boy's school activities serving as assistant Cub Scout leader for David and as room mother for Mark. When the boys entered junior high, she returned to the professional world, working for the University of Texas Development office and finishing her career at the UT Law School Foundation. Always an active person, Ginny loved working but took early retired in 1983 to pursue her true love of protecting animals.

Ginny's other passion was travel. After retirement, she visited almost every state in the Union, Canada, Western Europe, and even traveled across the Soviet Union on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

Ginny was well-known for her devotion to protecting and caring for animals. In 1984 she was honored by the Humane Society of Austin as the "Volunteer of the Year." She served on the Humane Society's board of trustees for 12 years. During this time, she helped start a program called Pet-a-Pup where volunteers take puppies to local nursing homes for visits with elderly residents. Also, armed with a humane society puppy and a large felt board of a dog named Sam, she visited local elementary schools in Austin, Westlake and Lakeway teaching children the importance of being a responsible pet owner.

Never one to shy away from controversy when doing the right thing, Ginny made national news in 1985 while serving with the International Foundation for Animal Welfare (IFAW.org). Ginny traveled to Nova Scotia, Canada where she braved artic winter temperatures, venturing onto ice flows to save newborn Harp Seals who were being brutally clubbed to death at birth for their highly sought after fur. The global attention these brave volunteers generated persuaded the Canadian government to halt the barbaric killings of the Harp Seals.

In later years, she turned her efforts to restoring the almost extinct gray timber wolf to the United States wilderness. She was very happy that she was able to travel to Wyoming in the winter of 2003 to see her beloved wolves flourishing in their natural habitat.

Her final act of public civil disobedience was in 2012 at the age of 90. She barely, but gleefully, avoided arrest while working a picket line with PETA in front of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, protesting the unethical treatment of the circus elephants.

Ginny laughed constantly, had an infectious personality, boundless energy, and loved every minute of her active life. As a devout Christian, she began every day of her adult life with prayer, Bible readings, and meditation. She was a long-time member of River Bend Church, volunteered at the West Bank Public Library, logged countless miles at the Towne Lake Hike and Bike Trail, swam regularly in her beloved Barton Springs swimming pool, and attended enough Willie Nelson concerts (dozens) to be considered a groupie!

She is preceded in death by her parents, a brother and sister, her husband Dan, numerous adopted humane society dogs, multitudes of friends and her loyal Jack Russell Terrier companions, Jake and Jack. She is survived by her sons, David and Mark, her step-son Tom and his family from San Antonio and her godchildren: Lisa Rauschuber (Cedar Park), Ryan Davis (Austin), Brandon Davis (Portland OR), and Barret Davis (New York City).

A celebration of Ginny's long and fulfilling life took place on Sunday, November 12, 2017 when family members and close friends gathered at the Capital Parks Mausoleum for a wonderful tribute of inspirational messages, her favorite old gospel hymns, and lots of laughter.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Humane Society of Austin or any animal rights organization of choice.