Jack C Davis Jr.

A devoted family man, Navy veteran, and sporting goods sales rep, his humor, sharp intellect, and charisma will be missed by friends and family.

He was born in Kirksville, Missouri to Marjorie Maxwell, homemaker and Jack “C” Davis, pharmacist and pharmaceutical sales rep. He, his parents, and younger sister Jill, moved to Manitou Springs in 1950.

He graduated in 1954 from Manitou Springs High School. He was awarded a full scholarship to college. Instead, he chose to enlist in the US Navy, following in the footsteps of military family members whom he admired.

He served aboard the Wantuck and the Noble in the Korean War, post-armistice, as an electronics specialist , and was assigned to patrol the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. He was discharged in Bremerton, WA and returned to Colorado.

In 1958, he and his high school sweetheart, Mary Ann Conn, were married at Church in the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls. They made their home in Boulder where he attended college. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management at C.U., made possible by the GI Bill.

The couple’s first two daughters Katie and Laurie, were born in Boulder, Laurie born on the day he graduated in June, 1961.

The family lived as caretakers at the Columbine Lodge in Green Mountain Falls, CO while he taught at the recently founded Brockhurst Boys Ranch. He returned to studies at Colorado College in Colorado Springs and Adams State College in Alamosa where he earned his teaching degree. The couple’s third daughter Shelley arrived in 1965.

Jack taught business law and typing at Wasson High School where he discovered that academia restricted his independent nature. Instead, he followed the wisdom of “do what you love” and as a fisherman, created the Lure-Line Tackle Company. He worked wholesaling his fishing lures throughout the western states, eventually becoming a sales rep for Wright & McGill, the historic Denver-based fishing tackle company known for its iconic Eagle Claw brand. He added the Boulder-based Western Knives, and Yellowstone Gloves to his wholesale business.

As secretary of the philanthropic Isaac Walton Club, Jack lead the support for the preservation of the Florissant Fossil Beds, now a National Monument.

Jack enjoyed fishing, reading, baseball, old Hollywood movies, and playing ukulele. Jack and Mary Ann had lived in her 1888 family home, Hartsholme, in Green Mountain Falls since 1986.

Jack is survived by daughters Katie Davis Gardner (Mark,) Laurie Davis Waalkes, and Shelley Davis (Dan,) four grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. Also surviving are his sister Jill Davis Snyder, brother-in-law Alan Snyder, and their children and grandchildren. Mary Ann preceded him in death in 2021.

Memorial contributions may go to his favorite charity, National Jewish Hospital, a non-profit institution supporting groundbreaking research and care for lung, heart, and immune conditions, at:

National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206

(877) 225-5654

Or online through their donation page.

*Fair winds and following seas, sailor. Your watch is over. *