Loretta Davis

Mary “Loretta” Davis (m. Kinder), a strong, hard-working, selfless mother, Braum’s store manager, farmer, and former daycare owner, passed away peacefully in her daughter’s home in San Diego, CA on August 21, 2020. Loretta is survived by her children, Will Rogers Davis, Pamela Davis Boswell, and Darron Clint Davis; her grandchildren, Amanda Davis, Courtney Bivins, Cameron Boswell, and Dylan Boswell. She is survived by her siblings, Mildred Stroud, Shirley Oaks, and Kenneth Kinder of Minco. Decedent siblings include John Jr, Dorothy, Faye, AJ, and Calvin. She loved reminiscing about her childhood with her brothers and sisters and parents, and she had great memories of them laughing and singing together in Minco. Loretta was born in rural Oklahoma in Cogar on November 13, 1941 to John and Mary Lou Lillian Kinder. She married Dennis L. Davis on August 12,1960 in Minco. (He is survived by sisters Pat Bruner of Tulsa and Rose Mary Lakin of Edmond.) Loretta ran her own daycare for about 15 years and worked as a manager/district manager at Braum’s for about 30 years. She was loved and respected by her customers and employees; respected for her work ethic and strength. She also worked at the family farm and cooked and baked amazing food (especially her pies and fried okra and yellow squash) throughout her professional life. None of us will ever know anyone who works harder than she did. She enjoyed travels with her grown kids and grandchildren, including trips with Darron & Pam and their families to Yellowstone and San Diego and trips to Missouri with Pam to visit Will and his family. All of the kids went to Hawaii with her on a dream vacation. She traveled with Pam to San Francisco on both of their maiden flights. Then they traveled to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and Las Vegas. She even met Pam in Acapulco when Pam was a primary care doctor on a ship in the navy. They both loved their mother- daughter trips, and Loretta wore her souvenir t-shirts proudly for decades. She passed away in her sparkly Hawaii shirt. They did many things together as a mother/daughter team, including piercing their ears together in the 70’s with an at-home hoop earring kit from TG&Y. Pam has many precious memories of styling her hair with Mom in the bathroom at home in OKC every morning. Loretta taught her how to bake and make desserts; they made sweets almost nightly while the kids were young. The sweet tooth Loretta had has been passed down to her kids and grandkids. Will remembers listening to records with Mom, who loved fifties pop music, Elvis, and country music. Darron remembers her loving Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. She had a famous laugh and always present smile and cherished babies and animals (especially cats and dogs). Every human and animal who knew her were enriched by the experience. Somehow, while working nonstop and demonstrating superhuman strength, she also managed to be a lot of fun. Loretta was a kind, giving person who would do almost anything anyone asked of her, even at the end. When Pam asked her to hang on for a while longer in August because she wasn’t ready to let her mother go, Loretta gave her an incredible three hour awakening the next day. They reviewed old photos, and Loretta joked with her and kissed , pinched, and hugged her and even kissed some old photos. It was a truly a gift.