Dorothy Marie Davis

Few people transition in the bosom of their families, but Mother Dorothy Marie Davis, was one of them. 91 years young, Mother Davis transitioned at home, surrounded by her family, while listening to church service in her favorite chair. Born to her late loving parents Alpha-Omega Cottrell and Ned Shoals on March 21, 1930, and growing up on a luscious farm in Idabel, Oklahoma, Mother Davis took an active role in shaping her life's journey. An original pillar and active member of Friendship Apostolic Church of God, Mother Davis joined when the church was located in Deanwood, Maryland. She was baptized in 1980, and received the Holy Ghost on February 13, 1981. Mother Davis served in substantial leadership roles, including long term presidencies and President Emeritus at Friendship including: the Young People’s Love Joy Band, the Missionary Band, the Deaconess Board, the Senior Choir, the Nurses Guild, the Helping Hand, and a district worker for the Sunday School Department that expanded her workmanship from New York to Alabama. Mother Davis served Jesus, the beloved saints, and humanity until her passing, whether on Zoom or in person. Mother Davis was never a passive individual, but a proactive, brilliant thinker and a contributor to life.

Mother Davis found joy in Jesus and in the most fulfilling activities: winning bowling tournaments, traveling with her friends (The Tates, Mother Moultrie, and Brother and Sister Deas), and hosting vibrant gatherings at her waterfront property (Indian Acres) with the saints (especially The Mathis Family). Figuratively and literally, Mother Davis wore many hats, but perhaps the chef’s fitted her best. Her signature dishes were pound cakes, stuffed rockfish with crab meat, and candied yams with melted marshmallows.

Mother Davis attended school in Idabel, Oklahoma, and exceeded all of her parents’ visions. She nourished her educational dreams at Historically Black Colleges, including the University of the District of Columbia and Lincoln University. She earned her master’s degree in human resources in her fifties from the latter, with her devoted late husband Deacon Warren Minor Davis driving her unwaveringly from D.C. to Pennsylvania.

Deacon Davis nicknamed her “Mother Flanagan” because Mother Davis nursed the most vulnerable and forgotten in society, and took lifesaving calls at all hours of the night. She worked alongside the most notable physicians, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, and her lifelong friend, Mother Theresa Moultrie. Mother Davis served in a supervisory capacity as a psychiatrist nurse at Saint Elizabeth’s hospital. For her, the word “retirement” was just a label, not a slowing stage of life. From her life’s beginning to its end, Mother Davis knew and fulfilled the needs of her beloved community.

In 1968, Mother Davis met the second love of her life, next to Jesus — Warren Minor Davis — and they were united in holy matrimony in June 1981. Together they epitomized a loving, sanctified marriage through their cross country trips in the RV, holy foundational teachings of parenting, and an unconditional love for each other. After Deacon Davis’ passing on February 23, 2017, Mother Davis kept up her husband’s legacy in her heart and travelled until her passing. Her last four trips were to Hilton Head, South Carolina (May 2021), where she ate a bowl of popcorn on the ocean that was bigger than her (while wearing a turtleneck). In Savannah Georgia (May 2021), she partook of almost everyone’s plate and most enjoyed the original Georgia Peach Cobbler. In May 2021, she celebrated the 29th wedding anniversary of her beloved son Mike and Jan in Ocean City. Mesmerized by the ocean, she enthusiastically and repeatedly said “Praise the Lord!!” as she sat behind her granddaughter Michelle during a TV interview. Little did we suspect, her last pilgrimage was her annual Father’s Day trip to Ocean City (June 2021), where she enjoyed Maryland crab soup, ice cream, and the comforting conversation of her longtime friend Mrs.Kelly, who told her “I ain’t having it!!.”, everytime Mother Davis wanted to jump off the couch, living up to her lifetime nickname: “The Energizer Bunny.”

Up until the evening of her passing, Mother Davis was the commander in chief of the household. Her signature quotes were “Wait'' and “Nah!!”, whenever her caregivers wanted to get her up on their own time. She firmly held on to the bedcovers until she was ready to get up. Additional quotes include “Michael, Michael, Michael!” her beloved, faithful, loving son. She loved to say “My house,” “where have you been?” and “I’m going to bed.”

Mother Davis is loved for countless memories and attributes; she embodied the late Maya Angelou’s quote, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, and some compassion, some humor, and utmost style.” Her life spanned an encyclopedia of historical experience: Mother Davis lived through the dark looming days of The Great Depression, and then decades later, walked into President Obama’s office with her family on a private tour. The matriarch graced our lives for 91 young years, a mighty force to be reckoned with.

Mother Davis was the last of her siblings to transition, and is preceded in death by her brothers Luther Shoals (Lois), Archester Shoals, Levoid Shoals (whom she nicknamed “Brother”), Lonnie Shoals, and her sister Delia Mae Shoals. She is also preceded in death by her daugher Earlene Burris, who passed with her mother by her side. She leaves to cherish her memory and a rich legacy, three sons Michael (Janette), Reginald (Morena), and Bruce (Kathy) Burris, ten grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren, including her most recent babies who spent her 91st birthday with her — Dakota (Kota Bear) Burris, Boston Burris, and Kayleigh Perkins. Reggie’s cooking team (Gabby, Maya, and Morena) will miss cooking Central American dishes and seeing the beam in their mother’s eye when she tasted their exquisite cuisine. Mike, Jan, Michelle, Desmond, and Barbara will miss the daily radiance of Mother Davis (watching Judge Judy and MSNBC, watching her eat three butterfingers back to back, going to get the popeyes chicken sandwich when she saw it on tv, and ultimately, being a beloved child of God). We salute you, our chief, Mother Dorothy Davis.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven