William was the son of William P. Davis Sr. and May Herring Davis. He was born in Moss Point, MS but spend his childhood in many different towns such as Spring Hill, LA, Mobile, AL, Georgetown, SC and Panama City, FL where his father moved to build paper mills for International Paper Co. He was a Lieutenant in the Navy during the early part of his life. He was a fighter pilot and a veteran of WWII and the Korean War. At the end of his service he was stationed in Jacksonville, FL where he would remain with his family and become an entrepreneur involved in numerous business ventures.
William is survived by his sister, Adair Davis Wilson, two sons, William P. Davis III (Yasumi) of Pleasant Hill, CA and Robert McMaster Davis (JoAnne) of Jacksonville Beach, FL, four grandchildren, Mathew Davis of Oklahoma City, OK, Daniel Davis (Deena) of Nashville, TN, Luke and Maya Davis of Pleasant Hill, CA, and four great-grandchildren, Reaghan, Arron and Zachary Davis of Oklahoma City, OK, and Robert Davis of Nashville, TN.
