Lou Ann Davis

Lou Ann Davis, our beloved mother, passed August 18, 2023, peacefully in her home, after a long illness. With her strong Christian beliefs, we know that she will no longer experience pain, now that she is in her Heavenly home. She was born in Rush Springs, Oklahoma on June 19, 1924, to William Olin King and Helen Lucille Murphy. She spent her early childhood years in Rush Springs, Oklahoma and Ft. Worth, Texas. After high school, she moved to California and worked in the food and hospitality industry where she promoted quickly into management. After several years, she returned to Oklahoma and married our father, Woodrow E. Davis, with whom she had four children. Our mother instilled a strong work ethic in us. She became a cosmetology instructor, and later opened her own salon in close proximity of our home to ensure she was available to us. New opportunities and challenges appealed to her; so, when we became adults, she pursued her real estate license and strategically invested in property management. She was instrumental in the formation of Mesta Park neighborhood. As a long-time member of the First Baptist Church, she taught Sunday school for many years in the children's department and also enjoyed social activities with her Sunday school friends. As friends moved away or passed, she later joined Portland Avenue Baptist Church. Her hobbies included square dancing, playing bridge and canasta card games with friends, shooting at the gun range, and attending performances at the Lyric, Jewel Box, and Poteet theaters. Our mother was passionate about life and embracing new experiences; hence she lived her life by a compass and not a clock. If you mentioned traveling, whether to NYC or a weekend at the lake, she had her suitcase and was ready to travel. Our mother had an internal and external beauty beyond compare, and she was a strong, independent woman long before women's equal rights movements. She was not intimidated; nor was she anyone's fool, in business or everyday life. However, her strongest legacy was kindness and extreme generosity to others, often through self-sacrifice. She felt compelled to fight for the underdog and she showed through meaningful actions, not just banal words, her commitment to help individuals and families in need. Some of her long-term commitments had life altering impacts by helping some recover from substance abuse, assisting others with employment, and most notably, helping individuals escape from abusive situations. She is predeceased by her parents, William and Helen King; sister, Olga King Davis, brother, James "Buddy" King; daughter, RaDonna Gaye Davis, son, Darryl Lane Davis, Stewart Wigler, whom she beloved as a son, and son-in-law, Frank H. Mahan. She is survived by her son, Michael J. Davis (Greg), daughter, Jasonna S. Mahan, Kristine Orwig (Joe), whom she beloved as a daughter, step grandsons, Joe Mahan and Matt Mahan, Cameron, whom she beloved as a grandson, and step great-grandchildren, Josie, Sam, and Ayden. The family would like to extend special thanks to the wonderful caregivers for the last six years, Glenda Gail Currin, Paula Simmons, Kam Hamilton, and Brandi Harris. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the animal rescue of your choice. Services will be held at Smith & Kernke, Thursday, August 31, 2023, at 10 am. www.smithandkernke.com Interment to follow at Rose Hill Cemetery.