Patti C. Kurtz Davis

Patti Clarice Davis was born on November 4, 1944, at Forsyth, Montana, to Fred and Tillie Kurtz. When she was in 1st grade, she moved to Vancouver, Washington, and attended grade school at Meadow Glade. In high school, at Columbia Adventist Academy, in her sophomore year, she met handsome, young Mike Davis. It was love at first sight from Mike’s perspective! July 4, 1965, they married. After Mike finished at Walla Walla College, they moved to Loma Linda, California. It was there that both children were born; Greg in early 1970, and Shonna in late 1971. While the children were small, she stayed home. As they grew older, she began working part-time at Portland Adventist Medical Center as a fill-in secretary. Patti did such a fabulous job, more and more people wanted her to fill in for them. By this time, the children were a little older, and could stay home by themselves after school, so she started working full time as a substitute secretary. In time, she transitioned to the Administration office, serving as senior executive assistant for the president of the hospital. After 32 years at the hospital, she retired in 2009.

Her grandchildren think she retired only to spend time with them. They brought her much joy! Any occasion a child asked Grandma to attend, she did. T-ball games, special music at church, gymnastics shows, country gospel performances, nothing was off-limits for them. Patti was the official cake/pie maker for the birthdays. Each grandchild could choose any cake they wanted, and she would make it. Aubreyanna wins the prize for choosing the most outlandish, most difficult cakes, and Grandma still gladly made each one. Even after she got sick, she was still planning the next one, Toriana’s pony cake.

November 8, 2011, Patti’s skin and eyes turned yellow. Through various tests and scans, the doctors found two separate cancers growing, one on her kidney and one on the pancreas. November 29, she had surgery to remove these cancers. The kidney was removed, but the tumor on the pancreas was much larger than anticipated and had spread to the surrounding tissue. Although disappointed, Patti was ready to move on to the next phase. The surgery took its toll on her, with 30+ pounds of excess fluid. Plans were made for chemotherapy and radiation treatments, but Patti’s body was just too weak to go through with them. Wednesday, January 4, she was hospitalized. By Friday, the 6th she was placed on hospice. She spent her last hours at home, with her family close beside her. In those last hours, we caught glimpses of her hope in Jesus. She spoke of being ready, of having given her heart to Him, of having fought the good fight. Patti died at 6:18 pm on Saturday, January 7.

Patti is survived by her husband of 46 years, Mike; her son and his wife, Greg and Lisa; her daughter and her husband, Shonna and Andy Scollard; her sister, Ellamae Carr; and 6 grandchildren: Martessa, Toriana, and Preston Davis, and Aubreyanna, Kiera, and Jacob Scollard.

Arrangements under the direction of Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, Portland, OR.