John Davis, a banker and civic leader, was “a natural leader,” according to friends and family.
“Leadership is what he was born for,” said Sheryl Davis, 72, his wife of 51 years. “He was very perceptive about others; he liked to listen and he could capitalize on his knowledge to reach the goal you hoped to achieve.”
Mr. Davis died Jan. 11 at age 73.
His lifelong friend, Butch Lucas of Festus, says Mr. Davis’ leadership skills were directly related to his innate intelligence.
“He was always mentally a step ahead of everybody,” Lucas said. “But he never tried to impress anybody, and he wasn’t condescending. He was just a down-to-earth guy.
“His nickname was ‘Coonie’ – that’s about as country as you can get. It just seemed to fit, even when he wore a suit.”
Mr. Davis grew up just outside Festus, with a brother four years older.
“His grandparents on both sides lived there, too,” Sheryl said. “He was surrounded by extended family. It was a very happy childhood.”
High school was tailor-made for someone with Mr. Davis’ outgoing nature.
“He was very active, and almost always in a leadership capacity,” Sheryl said. “He was well-liked and made friends easily. He was homecoming king, went to Boys State, was in Student Council and played sports all the way through.”
Unsurprisingly, Mr. Davis earned an appointment to the Air Force Academy, but he didn’t stay.
“His roommate was killed, and he dropped out,” Lucas said. “He came back and went in one of the first classes at Jefferson College.”
Lucas brought his friend to William Jewell College for a visit and introduced him to the football coach. Mr. Davis ended up enrolling and quickly assumed leadership roles there, too.
He played on the football team all four years and was a member of the school’s only undefeated season in 1967. He was the recipient of the school’s most prestigious award, the Col. Alexander Doniphan Award for outstanding senior, in 1969.
He met his future wife at a fraternity/sorority mixer in his freshman year.
“The president of the pledge class would go out and ask a girl to dance, and then all the other pledges would go and ask a girl,” Sheryl said. “I always said, ‘Now, how was it you walked across that room and selected me, with all those pretty girls there?’ and he just smiled and said, ‘You were pretty, too.’”
Lucas and Mr. Davis were roommates in college, and Lucas said there was a stretch of time when he was worried about his hometown pal.
“There were a bunch of guys who would play cards all night and sleep through the day,” Lucas said. “I got concerned about (John’s) grades, so I got the fraternity president, who was also student body leader, to check – and John had straight As. That’s just an indication of how easy it was for him to assimilate knowledge.”
Although he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business, Mr. Davis started as an English major and remained an avid reader for life.
“He probably had enough hours to have a double major,” Sheryl said. “It didn’t matter what it was; if there was a book sitting around, he read it, from English literature classics to Louis L’Amour westerns.”
After college, Mr. Davis worked in the insurance business for some years before taking a job with a savings and loan in Liberty.
“The man who ran it died, and John replaced him,” Sheryl said. “In time, the S&L became a bank.”
Over the next few decades, Mr. Davis slowly accumulated a lengthy resume in civic activities.
“He worked for many years in Ducks Unlimited, serving as state treasurer,” Sheryl said. “He was on the board of directors for the Jewell Alumni Association; he worked with
Habitat for Humanity and several other charities.
“He served on a lot of boards, held a lot of offices. He worked very well with people.”
Despite the demands on his time, he was a hands-on dad and later, grandfather.
“When I look back I think, How did he get all this done? When did this guy ever sleep? But it didn’t all happen at once,” Sheryl said. “A lot of this stuff was once a month, or during his lunch hour. It didn’t interfere with personal time or his business.
“He found that balance; community involvement was something he enjoyed, but it wasn’t overwhelming.”
Mr. Davis rarely missed an event his children were involved in.
“He spent a great deal of time with them,” his wife said. “He was very much a family man; his family came first.”
Mr. Davis always held his hometown in high regard.
“Festus was home to him; he always enjoyed coming here and spending time, seeing family and friends.,” Sheryl said.
He began having balance problems a few years ago and was diagnosed in 2016 with progressive supranuclear palsy, a fairly rare condition that resulted in his eventually being confined to a wheelchair.
In typical fashion, he was concerned about his family and not himself.
“He never wanted to burden anyone,” Sheryl said. “He wasn’t one for big recognition; he did a lot of things no one knew about just because he wanted to help.
“I can’t speak for how he would want to be remembered; but I know people will remember him for his kindness and compassion. The Golden Rule would describe perfectly his approach to life.”