Ann B. Davis

Ann Barham Davis was born on October 11, 1943, at Dixie Hospital in Hampton, Virginia to Marius and Nellie Barham. She was the youngest of three sisters with Ridgley “Cory” and Rebecca “Becky” being her older sisters that she always looked up to. She had lots of cousins and family friends. She loved being from Hampton although she grew up in many places as her father was a salesman and went where the job lead them. She remembers riding the bus to go shopping since her mother never drove and that they would have to wear gloves for such a special event. Her parents were deeply interested in genealogy and connected with our family history especially in the New Kent/Barhamsville area.

For the first 13 years of her married life, she and Bill lived in 12 different places, including driving across the US, and visiting the World’s Fair, before settling in the Glendale area of Newport News where her neighbors were like an extended family, especially Carolyn Wirth who shares her exact birthday. She would host a family “Cookie Party” in December instead of a Christmas party because we had friends that didn’t celebrate Christmas and she would bake more cookies than you would ever find at a bakery at any one time. While in Newport News she worked at card shops and the Betty Paige Shop before working at the Pewter Shop in Merchant’s Square. She joyfully returned to Hampton in 1997 there she enjoyed working at Hampton Stationary and thinking up ways to decorate the store windows. She later worked for Hampton Injury Law and really appreciated her time there. Some of her favorite times in Hampton included starting a book club that has lived on past her and hosting in her home. One Christmas she had hosted at least 3 events and then when we got to Christams Day we found out that she had forgotten about needing food for that day as well so we all ended up going to Wok-and-Roll. When Bill became too ill to keep up with the big house, they moved to Mill Creek where she usually kept the windows open to enjoy the cool salty cross breezes and watching the activity on the water. They moved to Williamsburg when her daughter and son-in-law moved there. At the Arbors she loved playing games with friends and watching movies. She even found her “Dixie Chick” in a friend, Joanne, that was also born at Dixie Hospital.

Ann met the love of her life, Billy B. Davis, Sr., at just 14 years old in Greensboro, North Carolina. Both were in the school band, and their first date—a Boy Scout event—ended with her father rescuing them when Bill's brother, Chuck, forgot to pick them up. Bill graduated from high school a year before her and joined the Air Force, Ann followed him to California, and they married in March 1962. All of their time together Ann would call her husband “Bill Davis.” They were a great team and “for the most part thought alike.” She appreciated his work ethic and dedication to his family. She claimed to not enjoy his humor, but we know that she did.

Their love story led to a lovely family: three children—Bert (Patsy) Davis, Jacqueline Rexrode, and Kym (Brad) Smith; six grandchildren—Nicole (Chris) Greene, Coyte (Lisa) Rexrode, Ella and Morgan Davis, and Chance and Chris Smith; and five great-grandchildren—Maggie, Leigha, Brooke, Elijah, and Kallum. Ann adored every one of them. She is also survived by her oldest sister, three nieces, two nephews, and their families. Ann never enjoyed cooking so dinner could easily be ice cream or cereal. She would avoid vegetables if at all possible and when she was in charge of cooking that was easy to do. One time she took the time to make homemade lasagna and had it cooling on the stove. Brad and Kym were not married yet and had a young dog who decided to try it for himself and ate 1/2 of it leaving the rest uneditable for us humans. She found this funny and we all found something else to eat. We loved to pop popcorn and drench it with melted margarine while watching the Muppet Show. Once we got a microwave - 4pm was microwave popcorn time every day!

Creative at heart, Ann found her calling in writing after returning to Hampton. She self-published five thoughtful and probing books. Her debut novel, Time Will Tell, was inspired by the then-unmarked graves of German U-boat crew members in Pheobus. Never one to accept history at face value, she wrote passionately about the overlooked and untold stories: the paper genocide of Native Americans in Virginia No More Indians, a 1931 murder trial for a native Hilton lady whose husband Sash Kane was accused of her murder Down By the Back River Light, and the racial divide between Buckroe Beach and Bay Shore around the storm of 1933 When Seagulls Fly Inland. She also penned a mystery sparked by a sign she saw on a road trip Along the Road to Hell for Certain Creek: Murder in Harlan County. There is also another historical fiction that is unpublished, which she was "still fixing.”

Ann and Bill enjoyed traveling on his work trips or with friends and family. They loved to stay at B&Bs and get a local feel of places. Ann delighted in preserving their memories through detailed scrapbooks. They often took trips with the Wirths. Visiting the Chicken Man in Louisiana was probably one of the most crazy things she has done. She loved San Francisco and San Diego but wasn’t sure about visiting the Navel Yard in Chicago during the winter when the frozen fine mist and strong winds actually blew her sideways as she held on to a lamppost. Luckily a large man in boots came by and helped her away from the ice.

She believed in making people feel seen. If you had a name tag, she’d use your name. If you didn’t, she’d ask. Everyone mattered to Ann, but she was careful never to impose.

In her final hours, she smiled wider than she had in years and shared beautiful memories of the people she loved most. She summed up her life with simple, moving words:

“I was never rich or pretty, but my life was rich and beautiful, and I am so very thankful for that.”

A visitation for Ann will be held Saturday, May 17, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Nelsen Funeral Home, 3785 Strawberry Plains Rd., Williamsburg, Virginia.

In lieu of flowers or a donation, please visit an independent bookstore local to you and buy a book or two.