Bernie Davis

After a brief but hard-fought battle with cancer, Dennis Bern Franklin Davis passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and close friends on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, in Calgary, Alberta at the age of 78 years.

Born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan to parents Lyall and Anna (Lockhart) Davis, Bernie was the youngest of 5 siblings by 12 years. Bern’s father passed away when he was 2 years old. Always beloved as the baby of the family and the apple of his mother’s eye, Bernie was raised with a unique and loving bond with his elder sisters Dawn and Audrey. Many of Dad’s best traits are a reflection of both his brothers Mervin and Allan. It is with a heavy heart that Dad’s passing represents the end of this very special and close-knit generation.

Bern spent most of his youth growing up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, graduating from Riverview Collegiate High School with his dear, and lifelong friend Stan Fedorwick. Competitive to his core, Bern was an avid sport fan playing baseball, hockey and football in his youth. He moved to Calgary to begin his accounting career in 1968, eventually earning both his CGA and CPA and operating public practice out of his residence until he retired in 2017. Bern transitioned his practice to part time when he joined the Calgary Board of Education as a Facility Operator, 5th Class Engineer for the remaining 15 years of his working life. Outside of work, Bernie greatly enjoyed refereeing ice hockey with the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association and loved the occasional games of cribbage, bridge, poker, craps and golf.

In Banff, AB on what would end up being, by his own admission, the luckiest day of his life, Bern asked a petite and feisty small-town girl from Flin Flon, Manitoba to dance and on July 17, 1969, Bernie married the love of his life, Beverley Fae (Garner) Davis. In 1974, they bought a bungalow in a “new” subdivision call Huntington Hills that remained their home for the last 52 years. Together they raised three children, Tracey, Christy and Ryan and opened their doors to many cherished nieces and nephews over the years. For both of our parents and each of their kids, the community of Huntington Hills brought many great memories, amazing neighbors and enduring friendships that are treasured to this day. Some of Mom and Dad’s happiest years were the many winters spent in Mazatlán making new friends in retirement.

Considered an “Old Timer”, Bernie was an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous for an admirable 48 years. It is hard to convey what the community of AA and its tenets meant to Dad. As much as AA gave to Dad, Dad did his best to give back in the form of sponsorship and support. From the deepest corners of our hearts, our family acknowledges and thanks his best friend Sam Graham and his loving and extended AA family.

Bernie is lovingly remembered by his children, Tracey, Christy, Ryan; his son-in-law Joaquin Cornejo and his 4 grandchildren, Georgia, Javiera, Joaquin Jr. and Julian. Grandpa was a cherished figure for so many reasons. Singularly, his grandchildren brought out the very best of him in the form of patience, kindness, thoughtful gestures and laughter. In return he was adored.

The family would like to express a heartfelt thanks to caregivers at Skyview Hospice for their outstanding care for Dad over the last few weeks of his life. At this time, we would like to say thank you to the caregivers at Skyview Agecare for the patience, love and compassion they exhibit daily for the ongoing care of our Mom.

And lastly, a special thank you to the friends and family who travelled to Calgary to say goodbye to Dad in the later days of his life, especially Steven Fehr, Darrell Davis, Doug Hackman, and Sam Graham who closely supported Dad at the end of his life’s journey.

A celebration of Bern’s life will take place on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Highwood Lutheran Church, 419 Northmount Drive N.W. Calgary, Alberta.

In lieu of flowers, in honour of our Mom, donations can be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada (https://alzheimer.ca/) or an association of your choice.