Junior Franklin Davidson

Junior Franklin Davidson, 94, of Kettering, Ohio entered into his heavenly home on July 30, 2026. Born March 1, 1932 in Roane County, Tennessee to the late James Franklin and Armelda Lowe Davidson. Married to the love of his life, Geneva Chapman Davidson on November 12, 1955.

In addition to his parents and wife, Junior is preceded in death by all his siblings, Kalmer, Georgia, Kenneth, Jerry, James, Harley, Earl and Billy and his granddaughter Cassi Whitaker. He is survived by his 2 daughters Debbie Whitaker (Darden) and Melissa Oakley (Dale); three grandchildren Dwayne Holland (Melissa), Savannah Oakley, and Tres Oakley; four great-grandchildren, William, Zoe, Hannah, and Emma. Many nieces and nephews and a host of friends including his best friends Joyce Riley & Howard Bowe.

Faithful to the Lord, and to whatever church he was attending at the time, Junior left a legacy by telling everyone about the miracles that took place in his own life. He never hesitated to witness his faith and share the gift of salvation for everyone to receive. His mission was to help others find the same peace and forgiveness that he experienced through Jesus Christ .

Junior never met a stranger and would talk to everyone as if he’d known them all his life. He was the true definition of a social butterfly, always looking for an activity to be involved in and if it was with his family, that made it even more special to him.

Outside of his normal Sunday morning church activities, you could find him at small bible study groups throughout the week, oftentimes leading the studies.

Junior was competitive in every game he played and taught his daughters and grandkids to be the same. Game nights with family were some of his favorite times.

Each week until the age of 93, you could find him doing one of his favorite activities; bowling. Junior was an avid bowler and a member of various bowling leagues for over 70 years, ending that activity when he was 93 due to health, not because he wanted to.

Junior got his first summer job at age 8 working at a local peach orchard where he saved his money to buy his own school supplies. He continued working each summer while in school and held many jobs from cutting timber, working in a coal mine, a cheese factory, and a flooring company before settling in Dayton Ohio where he retired from Dayton-Walther in 1981 after working there 29 years. He then moved back to Jamestown TN where he worked for Cash Homes in Crossville until moving back to Ohio in 1995 in order to be close to his family. At various times, he worked for Dayton Dragons Baseball as an usher (which he told people he couldn’t believe he got paid to watch his favorite sport) as well as an usher at the University of Dayton basketball games. He continued working part-time for Merchant’s Security throughout the area and mostly enjoyed working any place they assigned him to keep children safe. He continued working for Merchant’s until age 90, when he needed to quit work to care for his wife, Geneva. At age 91, Junior considered going back to work as he was never content being alone. He talked himself out of continuing to work while sitting in the Merchant’s parking lot, later telling his daughters, “I’m 91, why do I want to go back to work at this age, let the young ones have these jobs.”

A visitation for Junior will occur on August 5, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM with a funeral service to follow at Tobias Funeral Home Far Hills Chapel, 5471 Far Hills Ave., Dayton, OH 45429. A burial will occur at Heritage Hill Memory Gardens, 7370 OH-48, Springboro, OH 45066.