Nancy Davis

DAVIS, NANCY WADDELL SLAVEN Nancy Waddell Slaven Davis, age 83, of Birmingham, Alabama, died at a Hospital in Birmingham on February 5, 2010, after a series of complications following vascular surgery in November. She was born in Roanoke, Virginia, and grew up in Williamson, West Virginia. She was predeceased by her parents, Lant Rader Slaven and Rowena Rardon Slaven, and by her sister Margaret Slaven Canada. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, James Britt Davis, by her son Lant Burk Davis and his wife Amanda Neel Davis, by her grandson Lee Neel Davis, by her sister Katherine Slaven Levis (Curt), by her sister-in-law Willodean Davis Graves (Roy), by nieces and nephews Glenn Canada (Cathy), Nancy Canada Knickerbocker (Tom), Alan Patrick Levis, Susie Levis, Linda Levis Volkovitsch (Robert), Roy Stanley Graves (Debbie), and Kathy Graves Justiss, and by grand nephews and nieces. She was a graduate of Duke University (B.A. 1948) and of The University of Alabama in Birmingham (M.A.Ed. 1974). At Duke she was a member of Pi Beta Phi social sorority, the "Triple Trio" singers, the women's glee club, and the Chapel Choir. As a high-school student in 1944 she was chosen, based on her essay and project involving the then-new antibiotic penicillin, to represent West Virginia as a winner of the Westinghouse Science Scholarship competition. The award ceremony was at the White House in Washington, D.C., where recipients were entertained by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Davis was a well-known chemistry teacher in the Birmingham area, having taught as a laboratory instructor at Samford University (Howard College) and in the public schools at Hewitt-Trussville High School, Woodlawn High School, Huffman High School (science department chair) and Banks High School (science department chair). In the late 1960s she coordinated closed-circuit television broadcasts of science programs for the Birmingham Public School System. In 1973 she was honored by the Alabama Section of the American Chemical Society as Alabama's outstanding chemistry teacher. She was a member of the National Science Teachers Association, Delta Kappa Gamma and Kappa Delta Epsilon education sororities, and the Alabama Academy of Science. For 43 years she was a member of South Roebuck Baptist Church, where she organized the church library, led the children's choir, and was involved in many other activities; after moving to Homewood she joined Dawson Memorial Baptist Church and was an active member there (Sara Finley Sunday school class) until her death. She was a lifetime member of the Samford University Auxiliary and a member of the General Sumpter Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Her interests included bird watching, wildflower gardening, butterfly and seashell collecting, Appalachian culture, music, reading, and travel. Genealogy was a special interest, leading to the collection of letters and artifacts of Civil War veteran Jephtha Norton Davis.Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 2:00 in the sanctuary of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Rev. Gary Fenton officiating. The family will recieve friends starting at 12:30 until 2:000. A private burial will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery. Arrangements under the direction of Ridout's Valley Chapel (879-3401) Homewood, AL.