Wallace Davenport

Born in Los Angeles, California on December 20, 1932, he was the eldest of two sons of Marguerite Bobo and Edwin Davenport. He spent his early years in California before the family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas where he grew to adulthood. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in accounting. After serving two years in the Army (1955-1957), he moved to Texas to start his career.

Wally married Jean Emily Kramer in 1957, and together they had two sons – Thomas Edwin “Tom”, and Richard Eugene “Ricky”. Jean passed away in 1976. In 1979, Wally married Norma Ellen Anderson. They were married for 42 years before Norma’s passing in 2021.

Among other finance and accounting related positions, Wally served as an accountant to William L. Clayton (of Anderson Clayton Company) from 1961 until Mr. Clayton’s death in 1966. After 28 years with Anderson Clayton, he retired in 1988 when Quaker Oats acquired the company. Following retirement, Wally stayed busy. He took trips with his wife and granddaughter, read murder mysteries, collected coins and stamps, and followed sports (especially the Houston Astros). Good with numbers, he liked to calculate various statistics about his favorite teams and players.

Wally was a charming and gregarious man who seemed to know people wherever he went. He was also very civic-minded. He volunteered his time and donated to numerous non-profits and community groups. His contributions positively impacted many people’s lives.

When the Clayton home was donated to the city of Houston to be used as a genealogy library, Wally spent many hours for many years volunteering at the library, and doing extensive research on his own family history. He served several terms on the Executive Boards of both the Houston Genealogical Forum and Clayton Library Friends. When the Clayton estate was being settled, Wally negotiated for Mr. Clayton’s desk to be placed in Mr. Clayton’s former home office in the Clayton House. Every year he continued to be a generous financial donor to Clayton Library Friends – the 501c3 support group for the Clayton Library.

A longtime resident of the Westbury subdivision, Wally was very active in community affairs. He served as President, Treasurer, and Director of the Westbury Civic Club. He was Vice President of his AARP chapter in 2004 and, for many years he was involved as an Election Judge for his area of Westbury. Wally really enjoyed visiting with his friends and neighbors on election day. He was also instrumental in organizing the early stages of the current Friends of Chimney Rock Park 501c3 non-profit support group for the Platou Community Center. When folks in the Westbury area started work on the Willow Waterhole project, Wally joined the support with generous donations on a continuing basis.

Wally is survived by his son Tom, and stepdaughter Barbara Jones, her husband Bobby, granddaughter Heather Barahona, and great-granddaughters Bella and Ava.

There will be a public viewing held at Earthman Bellaire on August 2, 2025 from 12 PM to 2 PM. There will be a private ceremony for family members at the Houston National Cemetery. Donations in Wally’s memory can be made to Friends of Chimney Rock Park or Clayton Library Friends.