I miss the many conversations Dave and I would have about horticulture, politics (local and national),  sports, healthcare, and other subjects. We would dissect the issue and come up with our own solutions. It was fun doing that. Dave would always keep me on my toes!

David Davis was, among many talents, a master gardener, teacher and tireless community volunteer in gardening and horticulture. This photo captures David in his leadership of the building of the 6 keyhole gardens at the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP), Paisano Green Senior Public Housing property in 2015. This garden was a community-led donation to this unique sustainable property, enabling its residents to plant, compost and harvest from these desert-compatible gardens, and would not have happened without David’s dedication. Working with other master gardeners and permaculture professionals, David helped draw up the plans for the gardens, bought and delivered the materials for these gardens, and directed the many community volunteers and HACEP staff in their construction.  His advice on planting and maintenance ensured that this valuable asset would be beneficial for the property over many years. 
Thank you, David, for adding to the food security of the Paisano Green residents. This garden will stand as a tribute to the many volunteer gardening hours you gave throughout the El Paso community.







The world isn’t as bright with my Uncle Davey not in it. I had the immense privilege of being his niece and knowing and loving him my whole life. 

Uncle David is a man who cares deeply about people. He loves his family fiercely and cared for his community in El Paso his entire life. 

In my experience, he never met a stranger. He was curious about people and their lives and loved learning about their stories.

He is a man who feels deeply. If you were ever able to hear him read any of his stories out loud you may have had the privilege of witnessing this. I am so grateful that there are 2 videos of him reading stories he wrote.

The Gift: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=330580121034868


An excerpt from another one of his stories: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=527330380947172


Whenever we got to visit, we’d spend hours sharing stories and laughing. If you knew my Uncle David, you knew he was a jokester. He always had a joke up his sleeve and could bring a smile to anyone’s face.

He had a love and talent for gardening that he was happy to share with anyone. He gave my husband and I a tower garden as a wedding gift and we had so many fun and interesting conversations about strategies to get the most of out of it, with some jokes and stories mixed in of course.

We also loved talking about stories from the “Old Country”, which is how his mom, my grandma, would refer to Lebanon, the country her parents emigrated from. I loved hearing him, and other family members talk about memories of his grandparents in Lebanon and times in El Paso spent with all the Lebanese relatives. He valued his Lebanese heritage and always sought to learn more about it, as do I.

Words cannot even come close to encapsulating all of the things I love about my uncle and how much I will miss him. There is a hole in my heart now that he is gone but I will carry him with me and will always think of him when I hear a heartfelt story, see a garden, and eat Lebanese food.

David Davis came into my life five years ago when I married his niece Geena. 

It’s a rare occurrence when a stranger you meet feels like home, but the moment I met Uncle David I felt it. Maybe it was his warmth or his big laugh, but what I knew then was that feeling of being home was not just felt by me. 

I mostly spent time with David in a family context so that’s all the experience I can draw from, but I postulate that others outside of our family unit felt the same, because he would always tell the most wonderful stories about others. 

If I didn’t know anything other than how David loved others and how they loved him, that’s all I would need to know that he was a good man. He created vibrant landscapes with words as he told me about his time spent in the Navy, volunteering with hospice, teaching his community garden class, or growing up working at his parent’s flower shop Chez Paris. From these stories, it would be as impossible to miss his love for others, as it would be to miss a flashlight’s ornaments on a mountainside when a new moon cloaks it in shadow. 

The other thing I loved about David was his humor. He would come into the room and quite often would have the whole place tickling with laughter for one reason or another. It was so much fun seeing how he would play with words and ideas and string them around our heads as if the joke was always on us. On occasion, his jokes were so articulate that someone wouldn’t get it and it brought tears of laughter to my eyes if I was still able to keep up. David had a brilliance to him that was one of life’s joys to experience.

I’m going to deeply miss David, the deep in your bones kind. The kind that makes the heartache but also the kind that makes you grateful to have known such a man. 

I feel privileged to have known David, to be part of his family, and I know I will always carry a bit of the warmth that he passed onto me, as I’m sure he passed onto you. 

Until we meet again,

Tommy

I met Mr. Davis through the EPCC gardening class. I learned a lot and very much enjoyed this class. My deepest condolences to his family. He is in heaven taking care of the garden.

My brother David was an exceptional human being.  He was kind and giving.  He was warm and loving.  He was a good man, a wonderful brother and son, a considerate friend, a loving husband and a protective and adoring father and grandfather.  He was the storyteller and he was the plant doctor.  He gave his time, his compassion and his friendship to so many who were in need.  He had so many good friends, because he was a good friend.  I always felt very special and very loved by him.  I always felt safe and protected in his arms. Nobody could give a big, warm, cuddly bear hug like my big brother Davey.

Dave’s wife Paula was the love of his life.  I don’t believe any man loved and adored his wife more than David loved and adored Paula. He was so proud of his daughter Diane and her husband Rich, and he loved them dearly.  Their boys, Josh and Matthew, were absolutely everything to David.  Not a conversation occurred between us that they were not mentioned.  He loved those boys with all his heart, and that says a lot, because anyone that knew Dave will tell you he had a very, very big heart.

My children adored their Uncle Davey.  My mother loved him so much and will miss her happy bear.  He and Paula have taken such wonderful care of her since my father passed away more than twenty years ago.  That has meant so much to my mom, and to my brother Phil and me.  That’s just who David was.  A kind and gentle man who was always there for anyone that needed him.

To understand the depth of his warmth, one would only have to hear him tell one of his stories.  He felt the emotion of the character so deeply that he would choke up and cry when reading it out loud.  I know my brother is in a glorious place, as his faith was strong.  He is surrounded by love, and he is with us still, in every beautiful plant, in every story, in every memory we have.

I loved my brother so very much, and I will miss him every day of my life.  May he rest in peace.
  


It’s been a few days now, but I figured it was time for me to address the loss of a wonderful, man, husband, father, and grandfather. My Jidu - grandpa - has passed on after a difficult battle with cancer. 

He was an active member of his community, and volunteered with Hospice and with various Veterans Associations around El Paso. He was a passionate writer and a saxophonist like myself. I remember fondly the opportunities I had to talk about the instrument with him, and our shared love for music. He would send me some of his short stories to read and would recommend new jazz artists he discovered. He ran his own plant business, and always would share his ambitious ideas for the future of agriculture and gardening. Every time we would go to a theme park we would have to plan an extra hour or two just for him to stop at every piece of landscaping to admire the artistry of it. While as a little kid, waiting that much longer to get to the next ride I’m sure was a chore, but I find myself today still stopping to enjoy the beauty of nature around me thanks to his example.

One blessing I have is that whenever I hear a smooth jazz artist, I will also hear his voice marveling over the licks being played. Whenever I see an everyday garden, I’ll be reminded to take an extra minute to appreciate the hard work put into ensuring our world has at least that much more color. 

Rest In Peace Jidu

You’ll be missed

Dave Davis was a dear friend of the Mustard Seed Cafe family. He stopped by often and helped us in many ways. He brought us produce, came to eat lunch and donated money, allowed us to use one of his hydroponic towers, and even coordinated a work day in which high school students worked with an Eagle Scout candidate to build eight new raised beds for our garden.

Dave was a "grumpy bear" on the outside, but inside he had a sensitive, generous, and compassionate heart.  In the Fall of 2014 he sent me a paper that he wrote for a Creative Writing Class. The paper told of his encountering a brilliant and inquisitive young man in our garden on the day of that Eagle Scout project.  The young man often volunteered in the garden in exchange for a meal. He and Dave struck up a conversation as they cleared irrigation trenches and lay PVC pipe.  As the day went on Dave learned that the young was homeless and he gently asked him "why? " The floodgates opened (Dave's words).  He wrote, "The guy needed an ear and for once I could shut up and give him mine. I heard it all. His hopes, his fears, his plans, his dreams. Nothing that wasn't attainable."  

Dave lived his life "in the moment" giving himself away to the people in front of him. I am grateful to God that he was my friend.

I wanted to relate a couple of things about Dave that I believe say much about the sort of guy he was.

Dave worked for many years with (among other organizations) Hospice of El Paso, the Community Garden, and the Mustard Seed Community Cafe. He did this for love, not money.

Back in 1996, I quit my old job and decided to strike out on my own. I did not know what I was going to do or how I was even going to do it. Dave called me and asked if I could repair a Mac for him. It was actually my first job as a full-time consultant. When I finished the repair and returned the Mac to him, he told me he would drop off a check the following day, which he did. But when I opened the envelope, the check was for $1 less than the agreed-upon repair cost. Then I discovered an additional small package at my front door. Dave made me a gift (see photo, below) that is still up on a wall in my office and it reminds me every day how lucky I am and how kind he was. "Fair Winds, Following Seas." Rest in peace, Dave; you left the world a better place. Thank you.

OBITUARY

David Davis

July 30, 1950 – April 22, 2020

Hillcrest Funeral Home

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