Jay Davis was one of the finest tennis players Columbus, Georgia, ever produced, and he'd have been the first to tell you so — though he'd have said it with a smile, and then beaten you 6-1 to prove it. He played with a ferocity that became local legend, but off the court, no one was kinder.
Born July 2, 1943, in Columbus, Jay was the only child of Judge J. Alvan Davis and Martha Thompson Davis. Though he had no siblings, his Flournoy cousins made sure he never wanted for brothers and sisters.
He picked up a racket at 13, took free lessons at the Wildwood Courts, and a star was born. He won the Jaycee Junior crown in 1961 — the first time he ever beat his lifelong and dear friend Chuck Harris. In 1964, he became the first Columbus College athlete to compete nationally, finishing runner-up at the National Junior College championship in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He then went on to the University of Georgia and, in 1966, was 18-0 in singles matches, a UGA record that stood for decades. Years later, he was inducted into the Columbus State University Sports Hall of Fame — formal recognition of what Columbus already knew.
But all the fire he brought to the court took a permanent back seat the day he became a father — first to Jess, then Joseph, and then triplets Robert, John, and Julie Ann. He loved those five children more than anything, and in his final hours, every one of them was at his side.
Jay was a tennis pro, a real estate developer, a barbecue sauce proprietor, and a few other things that worked out or didn't. None of it stuck, because none of it was the point. The point was people. He gave away more than he should have to anyone who needed it, knew it, and kept right on doing it.
Even as a child, Jay was unusually kind. Later in life, his love for others was deepened by his Christian faith, lived as service rather than talked about. A longtime member of Edgewood Baptist Church, Jay went looking for people in need wherever they happened to be — which more than once meant walking through the gates of a maximum security prison to minister to the men inside. In his final days, the phone kept ringing with friends wanting to tell his children one more story about a kindness Jay had done, often quietly and forgotten by everyone but the person on the receiving end.
He was a relentlessly good man, and an even better father. Game, set, and match, Dad. You won, yet again. Now rest in peace; if anyone deserves it, you do. We love you.
Jay is survived by his children, Jesse Alvan Davis III (Kristen), Joseph Byrd Davis, Robert Thompson Davis, John Walter Davis (Kristen), and Juliette Ann Jordan (Justin); and grandchildren Bennett Thompson Davis (21), Noah Casteel Davis (18), Eliza Tae Davis (15), James Warner Davis (6), Elizabeth Lane Davis (2), Boaz William Jordan (10), Jack Joseph Jordan (8), and Louise (Lucy) James Jordan (6).
Visitation will be held at Edgewood Baptist Church, 3564 Forrest Rd, Columbus, GA 31907, US, on June 8, 2026, from 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm, followed by the Funeral Service at the same location on June 8, 2026, starting at 2:00 pm.
