My pappaw was the greatest man anyone could ever meet.  And we'll never be the same without him, but his love, kindness and memory lives on in me and the rest of his adoring family.
We love you and miss you Pappaw

There was never another man alive that could compare to my loving father.  He was there whether we thought we needed him or not, and he always knew just what to say.  My mother never had to worry about working, money or any of her needs. Through sickness, pain, and suffering, all the way up to the day he died, he never wanted her to worry about him or his needs. My  mother and us kids were ALWAYS first.
He is loved and greatly missed.

we suffered a great loss on that Monday with the news of my grandfather passing away from a sudden, massive heart attack. I just wanted to share with you the eulogy i prepared for his funeral on Thursday:




With all my grandfather has done and given to me, I wanted to take some time to share with you just a few things I saw in the man we call Pappaw.

Pappaw was a symbol of joy. No matter the hardship or the struggle he was involved in, he never would let it control his actions or frustrate him. In fact, I do not believe I ever saw him overwhelmed. It is not that he overlooked the gravity of any given situation, he just had an unshakeable faith and an incomparable belief in family and those two things would ultimately be all that was needed to overcome any task.

Pappaw was an influential figure in my life from the beginning. The simple thought of me being able to see him caused a bliss that was beyond words. He taught me how to be a man, from the simple and mundane task of learning how to potty to the other lessons that I would not recognize until later years.

Pappaw was one of the hardest workers I had ever known. He worked his entire life, even through health problems and pain, to provide for his family. This latest lesson never dawned on me until I really looked back in admiration on how he would spend months on the road, away from his family and his friends, so that he could provide for Mammaw and his children.

In the most recent years, I would still get the same feeling as I did when I was five or six, whenever I walked into their house, albeit, Mammaw and Pappaw had moved,. Joy. It started in my heart and radiated outward. Pappaw was able to do that with his smile and the happiness he got from seeing his grandchildren.

As the years went by, the visits grew further and further apart but there was never a feeling of separation. Whenever I walked into their apartment, Pappaw looked at me the same as he did when I was a toddler. That look explained it all. He looked at me as though I was the single most important person in the world, a feeling that his other grandchildren and everyone else can relate to.

Pappaw had an unbreakable spirit. He had a passion and a zeal for life that I have never encountered anywhere else and probably never will again. Some call it stubbornness and maybe it was..maybe it was being stubborn to give-in when all complications were at their worst.

The heart-attack in Ohio and the worsening health conditions began to plague Pappaw over the last few years. Even with these adversities, he still only smiled when he saw his family, and even his wife, my Mammaw. He even tried to work again so that he could, in his own eyes, not fail his family as a provider. 





Even though this may not have been the wisest choice, it displays that genuine character trait of my Pappaw, and that is perseverance. Yet another lesson I have learned from him, the ability to keep moving forward even though your path may be so overwhelmed with obstacles you cannot even tell where you are going anymore.


It's difficult for me to envision my life without him. The lessons he has taught me are invaluable. I have tried to prepare myself for this moment for years but I would always say that when the time comes I will be older and more capable to handle the situation. But I think that feeling is not all too uncommon.

I believe I share this emotion with all who are here today. The truth is that nobody can fully prepare for death but what we can do is remember life and enjoy those times we did share with Pappaw.

So as we commemorate his life today, we celebrate the legacy he has left us. His legacy is in his family and his friends. His legacy is the people that he has helped, and in the lives that he has touched. He has left us a history. A history of pride in family and never giving up. And now this history is in our hands to carry on where he left off. 

In closing, I would like to read a poem that I think encompassed almost every emotion I have felt since I got that dreaded call Monday morning.








Never Alone
by Rodney Belcher

I feel you in the morning
When at first I awake
Your thought is with me
With each decision I make

You'd been around forever
Since the first breath I took
Now I have to go on without you
But for love, I need not look

Cause by what you bestowed
In our short time together
Will last in my heart
Forever and ever

Although you've left
And now walk above
I'm never alone
I'm wrapped in your love

Enjoy now your long waited reward
Feel peace that your love continues on
What was taught to me, will be taught to mine
Cause you live on in me even after you've gone


My Pappaw will be greatly missed and always remembered.

To mom i love you very much.Just know i will always be there for your family.I have always felt as if i were one of your own.I know you are a very strong person with a great big heart and you took care of a man who always worked his hardest to take care of the family the best he could.He was always nice to me but gone on the road most of the time. one thing i know for sure is how you could see the joy in his eyes when he seen his grandchildren.i'm so happy that in his last days god made things for the family so nice and peaceful he knew what he was doing.may he rest in peace.We will think of all the good thing that we know about are big teddy bear we called dad. love ya mom Jennifer

OBITUARY

Joe Davis

September 13, 1939 – March 13, 2006

Navarre Funeral Home & Cremation Services

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