Thomas Burton Davenport

This will be a lame attempt at telling a small part of the story of Tommy Davenport. How can I begin to tell the story that could only be told by one of the world’s greatest story tellers himself? Boy could Tommy spin a story, tell a tale….and believe it or not they were true.

Tommy grew up in Pascagoula, Mississippi; the baby of seven children. He was bribed by his brothers with ice cream to keep quiet about their nefarious deeds or to leave the house, etc. Ice cream was an addiction he carried with him his entire life. He had phenomenal stories about incidents in the “boys room” and the hysterical terms that mammaw used to express emotion after one or more of them had done something “bad”…..like “wait ‘til your dad gets home….he’s gonna shit a minnow”. Tommy would then continue the hilarity by explaining how he would visualize a minnow swimming out of his dad’s ass. There are so many of these sayings…..he could have filled a book. He grew up with his nieces and nephews who were just ten years younger than he. The football game and wiffle ball game stories provide hours of entertainment. He has always maintained that at times he lived a Huckleberry Finn type of life. Some of his most favorite things to do were running the river or boating out to the gulf islands; dodging water moccasins or alligators, drinking and laughing and living life.

He loved football and baseball and was always striving for Mickey’s, Billy’s and Bobby’s approval. He would always say they were more like a father than a brother. In his youth he ran track and played basketball. While in the Navy he played on many Command Championship flag football, basketball and softball teams. He also had the time of his life playing on the USA Men’s Fastpitch Team while stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. He was a phenomenal athlete and was always excited by his ability to out run the athletes he coached when he was in his late forties. He also played every game with the intent to win. I was always asking him did not he ever play anything just for fun…his answer was that winning is always fun, and when you do not win it sucks, but if you played the best you could play and someone else was just better and won, then it still sucked. In sports as in life he won tenfold more competitions than he ever lost. . Through coaching he felt he could make a difference. He truly believed sports taught cooperation and collaboration skills that would be needed in later life. He felt that by being on time to practice, with the appropriate equipment and with a mind focused on the task at hand athletes would be empowered with the skills needed for any workplace environment.

He was passionate about older people and children. He felt that they were the two groups that needed the loudest advocate He loved older people and felt that they should be respected and treated with dignity until their last breath. It grieved him that some thought that anyone in their later years had lived their life and somehow deserved less, whether socially or medically. There are too many instances to count where he sat by the bedside of an aging veteran and listened to their stories of a day gone by. I will cherish Tommy’s retelling of their stories forever. He did the same for all aged patients who sometimes just wanted a kind touch, kind word and avid listener. A gift that Tommy had was being an avid listener. He loved children; newborn to young adult. We all teased him that he was the “baby whisperer”. But ask anyone who saw him in action; this is not a joke. In fact he was the best ever “baby whisperer”. But the same characteristics; kindness, thoughtfulness, caring he showered on babies he also showered on toddlers, adolescents, and young adults. I used to tell him he connected so well with kids because he suffered from the “PETER PAN SYNDROME”; never wanting to grow up. Ask anyone who has ever played a rousing game of “the bear in the woods” or “chicken hawk”. He strongly believed in discipline and respect and felt that all children should be taught both from the very beginning of their life. Meaning that they, children, should be respected and cherished and taught by example. He and I both lamented and grieved in our soul that we spanked our children. We learned much later there is a better way and it forces adults to grow and develop more than it does the child.

He was passionate about family. He loved his family beyond measure. He was a “knight-in-shining-armor”, a Hero, a Protector that would ride to any one of our defense. Oh my gosh could he get furious then become reflective and then decide on the perfect plan or solution to solve whatever had “fired” him up in the first place. He had great insight and was the perfect sounding board. Tommy was an amazingly devoted father and husband. He loved his immediate family, which we call “blood”, beyond measure. But he also loved the family he chose. They include friends from all walks of life and from all parts of the world.

Tommy Davenport was passionate about the state of Mississippi. He was aghast by the radical thought from the past that is prevalent in some Mississippian’s hearts still today, but was filled with so much hope for the future. Top to bottom he loved the Magnolia State: The swamp outside of Oxford, the Grove, the Chicken Coop, Tupelo, Vicksburg, Starkville, Jackson, Hattiesburg, the entire coast from State line to State line, old HWY 99, the Pascagoula River, the little creek in Gautier where we caught perch, squirrel hunting, rabbit hunting, quail hunting, crabbing, gigging for flounder, Ship Island, Horn Island, dancing at the Vapors and Fiesta, throwing a cast net, Alouicious the alligator. Perkinston, Southern and Ole Miss.

Tommy was passionate about the University of Mississippi, Ole Miss. He was aware there were more universities in the State of Mississippi than one person could count but Ole Miss was the ONE. Education was so important to him, whether it was school-to-workforce, technical or traditional college. He loved Ole Miss sports from the first day he could utter “Hotty Toddy”. Mickey, his oldest brother, always took credit for Tommy’s love of Ole Miss. It only makes sense that the only College Conference was the Southeast Conference and he pulled for every SEC Team as long as they were not playing Ole Miss.

Tommy was passionate about the United States Navy and particularly Navy Medicine. He was eternally grateful the U.S.Navy afforded him the opportunity to be educated in and excel in a field that he truly loved and in which he was the foremost authority.

Tommy was passionate about the Pacific Northwest and the State of Washington in particular. He loved the Evergreen State: Seattle, floating the Wenatchee, Snoqualmie, Ocean Shores, Spokane, Craft Beer, Oysters, Lake Chelan, Tsillan Cellars, Craft Beer, Leavenworth, Centralia, Fastpitch fields, Soccer fields, Craft Beer, salmon, Dungeness crab, Pike Place Market, Owl and Thistle, Silver City (in the old days), Tizzley’s, the Hare and Hound, Port Orchard, Slaughter County, Craft Beer, Bellingham, Mt. Vernon, Deception Pass, Ferries, Mount Rainier, Port Angeles, Sequim, Victoria, Mt. Walker, Olympic Hot Springs, Craft Beer, Goonies, Duck Rides, eating at the Space Needle, Chihuly, Craft Beer, Bill and Kathy’s Boat, our yard, Halloween Parties, Superbowls, Christmas Parties, Tri-cities, wrestling, football, baseball, fastpitch, soccer, Fir trees, Craft Beer, Puget Sound, Forks, Quinault, Whaling Days, Puyallup Fair, HWY 2 and all destinations from corner to corner of this the 42nd State of the United States of America.

Tommy Davenport was a one-of-kind man. The memories are so numerous they will sustain us in our time of grieving but our deepest sorrow is in knowing he will not be here for us to make new memories.