Mary was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to parents Ernest and Marie (Riester) Clark. She is
survived by her son Brad Davis currently of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; sister Joan Terwilliger of
Kettering, Ohio; best friend Beverly Parsons of Shalimar, Florida; friend and care giver Carolyn
Allard of Enon, Ohio.
Mary lost her father when she was just two years old, after which her mother moved to New
York City and raised her three children as a single mother. Mary attended Ladycliff Academy, a
Catholic boarding school in Highland Falls, a town on the banks of the Hudson River, 55 miles
north of New York City. She moved back to Manhattan after her sophomore year, and graduated
from Washington Irving High School. She then attended classes at Hunter College.
She met William Davis on a blind date while he was a cadet at West Point Military Academy.
They were married in 1953, the day after his graduation. Their first station was in Tucson,
Arizona. They spent three years in Munich, Germany between 1955 and 1958. This was
followed by a post at Edwards AFB, California, where William finished second in his class at the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. They spent three years at Howard AFB in the Canal Zone,
Panama from 1964 to 1967. Finally, they were stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
Ohio became their permanent home when William retired from the Air Force at the rank of
Colonel.
Mary was a devoted wife and mother. She was an excellent cook. Fiercely loyal to her friends,
she was quick-witted and lively. She enjoyed discovering new places, and made numerous trips
with her family – a cross-country trip across the USA; a three-month trip by train and bus across
Western Europe; a self-drive road trip behind the Iron Curtain to Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and
East Germany; Egypt by local trains; Saudi Arabia to visit her son; Morocco by private car; and
most recently Germany with her husband, son, and sister.
Mary will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband at West Point Cemetery in West Point, New
York.
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