James Wallace Davenport

James Wallace Davenport, age 91, of Austin, Texas passed away on November 20, 2007. He is survived by his wife, Martha Harrison Davenport; son Jim Davenport and his wife Sally of Austin, Texas; sister, Daphne Hollingsworth of Lubbock, Texas; and granddaughters, Claire Davenport in Providence, Rhode Island and Lindsey Davenport of Austin, Texas. He was the son of Wallace and Lillie Davenport, longtime residents of Plainview, Texas. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Frankie Dodson Davenport. James Wallace was born in Plainview on October 12, 1916. He attended Plainview High School; Tarleton Agricultural College in Stephenville, Texas; Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri; and the University of Texas in Austin. He left school to join the army in World War II, and he was a Lieutenant in the Army Medical Service Corps on Okinawa from 1943 to 1947. After the war, he became an insurance agent with the Boyd and Davenport Insurance Agency in Plainview in 1947, and he was a partner in the Woods and Davenport Insurance Agency there from 1964 through his retirement in 1981. He was on the Plainview City Council for four years; and he is a past president of the Plainview Junior Chamber of Commerce, Hale County Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Independent Insurance Association of Plainview, and the Plainview Board of Realtors. He served on the Hale County Airport Board, the Plainview Salvation Army Board, and the Plainview Board of City Development. He is a Past Master of Plainview Masonic Lodge 709 and a past president of the Plainview Shrine Club. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Plainview. After retirement, he lived in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, where he participated as a volunteer with emergency medical services, and he attended the Church at Horseshoe Bay. After his first wife Frankie’s death in 2003 he moved to Austin and married Martha, whom he knew from his early years at the University of Texas. They met again by remarkable coincidence and lived a full life during his last years despite his declining health. James Wallace was an avid outdoorsman, and he loved to hunt, fish, and tell stories about it. He was a golden gloves boxer, a football player in high school and college, and a pilot. He had an incredibly cheerful, upbeat, “git-er-done” approach to life, and he was a totally committed and entertaining grandfather and father. He was a devoted and beloved friend to many, and he had the extraordinary gift of making those around him feel special, simply by being so sincerely glad to be with them. The funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 24, 2007 at the Wilke-Clay-Fish Chapel at 2620 South Congress in Austin, Texas. Internment will follow at the Live Oak Cemetery on Twin Creeks Road near Manchaca, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Disabled American Veterans or to the Manchaca United Methodist Church.