William E Davenport

William E. “Gene” Davenport, age 84, died peacefully at home with family and friends on May 1, 2025. Gene was born on June 20, 1940 in Monticello, KY to A.L. and Bess Davenport and grew up in Yazoo City, MS. He attended Millsaps College where he met his love and wife of fifty years, Sandra Robison. They married June 21, 1964, and Gene subsequently completed studies at Ole’ Miss with a master’s degree in urban planning.

Gene’s career led him to Rust Engineering in Birmingham where in 1972 he met a developer with plans at Lake Martin. The developer was Ben Russell and Gene joined him at Russell Lands in 1973. Over the course of his thirty-year career with Russell Lands, Gene had the opportunity to “work” at one of the most beautiful places conceivable, served on many boards of directors, supported many charities, was involved in varied ventures, using every opportunity to make friends along the way. He always enjoyed giving advice and helping others to succeed, gladly sharing his time and wisdom.

Later in life, he was well known in the car community as a collector and regular attendee of many car events. What’s lesser known is that he had the full collection of Willie Nelson albums, enjoyed napping in his recliner while wearing cowboy boots and that everything he engaged in was with the underlying goal of making friends.

Gene was preceded in death by his wife, Sandra. He is survived by his son Will (Amy) Davenport; granddaughters Emma and Ella Davenport; brother-in-law Rocky (Diane) Robison; Loda Walters (if you’re fortunate to know her then you know she’s family) and many other relatives and close friends. Thank you especially to the excellent care from the teams at HomeRn and ProHealth for making it possible to comfortably and safely remain at home.

Services for Gene will be Friday, May 16th, at 10:00 a.m., there will be a visitation at Ridout’s Valley Chapel, 1800 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL with a memorial service in the chapel at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers the family requests gifts to Gene’s favorite charitable organization, Children’s Harbor, 434 Children’s Harbor Drive, Eclectic, Alabama 36024.