Dorothy Alice Davis

Dorothy's kindness and generosity flowed from her faith in the Lord, touching the lives of all who knew her. She will be remembered as a gentle, giving woman whose life was a testament to grace. She was a long-time member of Saint Luke’s Methodist Church, early on as a member of the church choir, many years as a member of the Triquetra class, and later active in Friday School and in the annual garage sale event for many years, until age took its toll.

From her earliest memories as a child, one of the first songs she learned as a three-year old, was the Hoagy Carmichael song, “Little Old Lady” from the Broadway show “The Show is On.” That was when her love of singing and of song began. She performed her first solo at 9-years old at Will Rogers Methodist Church, singing “Happy the Home”. During the war, her favorite class was music in which she learned all the national anthems of the Allies. After moving to OKC as a teenager, she joined First Methodist Church where she began developing her vocal talent under the tutelage of Mr. Ed Karhu. While studying vocal music at Oklahoma City University, she developed a love of opera. She was a faithful listener to the Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera broadcasts on KCSC (now KUCO). Her favorite song of all time “Ah Sweet Mystery of Life.” Her favorite opera was Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly.”

Dorothy went on to earn her B.S. Education, graduating cum laude from Central State University in 1973, and a Master’s Library Science, from The University of Oklahoma in 1977.

Dorothy loved being a part of the Heartland Chapter of the ABWA, serving as a docent at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, participating in the Central Oklahoma Quilter’s Guild activities, hosting book clubs, and the ‘Meet the Artist’ book events hosted by the Oklahoma School Librarian organizations. Her love of literature led to a career as school librarian, serving 9 years in Nicoma Park and another 13 years in the Putnam City Schools.

Yet, her interests were not limited to books and song. She gained quite an interest in France when studying for her Master’s degree, and eventually studied abroad in France. After returning from she took on and mastered French cooking, with help from Julia Child’s books. This blossomed into a hunger for knowledge about cultures and cuisine. Her family, particularly her husband, Shelby, looked forward to sampling the results! She also found the start of her ‘post-retirement’ career, making quilts. She had an artists’ eye in her quilt designs, and made over 100 quilts, the early ones of which were hand quilted (before the advent of the long-arm quilting machine).

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, and husband, Shelby M. Davis; her brother, Samuel E. Latham; nephew, Mark S. Latham. Dorothy is survived by daughter, Sharon J. Anderson, son, Donald V. Anderson, and a wonderful niece, Kathy Latham. She is also survived by many great-nephews and even more great-great nieces and nephews and great-great-great nieces and nephews, all of whom she greatly cherished.

Memorial Service will be 10am Saturday, October 4, 2025 at Saint Luke's Methodist Church with inurnment at Saint Luke’s Methodist Church Columbarium.

Donations can be made in Dorothy's honor to St. Luke's Methodist Church, Mobile Meals Ministry or El Sistema Ministry.