Mary L Davis

She was born to the late Arthur and Dorothy Parent on September 22, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. Mary graduated from Our Lady of Mercy High School in 1965 and received a scholarship to study at the Dayton Art Institute. She was married to the late John Davis for 50 years, and they lived together in Chicago, Phoenix, and Dayton.

Mary is survived by four children: Lori Davis, Barb Thomas (Aaron), Sheri Gagliano (Mark), and Mike Davis; grandchildren Sean Davis, Lydia Thomas, Grant Thomas, Delaney Gagliano, Riley Gagliano, and Braeden Gagliano; and brothers-in-law Bob Davis (Deb) and Tom Davis (Deb).

Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and a memorial service will be at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 23 at Tobias Funeral Home Far Hills Chapel, 5471 Far Hills Ave, Dayton, Ohio 45429. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dougie Apple Tree Scholarship (PO Box 752108, Dayton, Ohio 45475) or the Kettering Medical Center Foundation. Online condolences may be sent to www.tobiasfuneralhome.com.

Mary Davis – loving wife, mother, grandmother, friend, coworker, artist, chef, and all around amazing woman…

Heaven is a brighter, lovelier place as of Thursday, August 13. Jesus came to our mom’s earthly home and carried her to her new, eternal home in heaven. In John 14:1-3 Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

We have no doubt she already has her room impeccably decorated. She had such a great sense of style and made her houses into comfortable, beautiful homes. She made her own curtains and created her own artwork for the walls. She was so good with colors and taking something plain and making it better. She could put together outfits that were classy and stylish. She was a cute mommy.

She showed creative and artistic talents from a young age. We found letters and a newspaper article from her high school days in Detroit that showed she submitted artwork for contests and caught the eye of several businesses. She received a scholarship to study at the Dayton Art Institute. She was so talented. When we were young, she started doing drawings of people’s children, dogs, and cats. People she didn’t know would mail her photos of their pets for her to draw. She also did glass etchings and sold them at craft shows and Christmas bazaars.

Her greatest joy was being a wife, mother, and grandmother. She had four children within five years – Lori, Barb, Sheri, and Mike - and we were lucky that she was a stay-at-home mom until we were in high school. She could do anything – she made fun birthday cakes and creative halloween costumes. One year Barb decided she wanted to be a bird hatching out of an egg, so she figured out a way to create that costume. She was supportive of everything we wanted to do, whether it was school or sports or studying abroad, and did what she could to help us achieve our goals and dreams. And she absolutely adored her grandchildren. Sean said, “She was the perfect grandma – unconditional love and phenomenal food.” Grant said, “You’re such a grandma” when they came to visit and she had laid out a spread of food with her cute plates and utensils. She loved that!

Mom could take random food items from the pantry and refrigerator and make them into a great meal. We called them her concoctions. She had every kitchen gadget known to mankind and loved to experiment. We will miss her amazing Thanksgiving dinner, especially her homemade gravy. In her last days, cooking was something she could still do and it gave her a lot of pleasure in the midst of pain.

Our mom was good at everything she did. Though her education was in art and she stayed at home with her kids, she became a successful manager at Marshall Fields, she and our dad owned and ran a video store and a landscape business, and she spent the last 14 or so years as a property manager for condo associations in Dayton. She worked very hard and took pride in doing her best for her customers, clients, vendors, and coworkers because she considered them to be her friends. We have received so many emails from residents and board members who said that she was always smiling, friendly, kind, caring, and willing to listen. She blessed so many people.

She cared for our dad through his battle with dementia and colon cancer and she waged her own battle with an aggressive form of multiple myeloma during the past five months. We are grateful that it didn’t drag on. It was hard for her because she was so active and full of life and love. God blessed us with a wonderful, beautiful, loving mother. We were all able to be here with her during her last days. We miss her already and we’re looking forward to seeing her in heaven.