Helyn Davis loved soda pop, the color red, and taking care of her own damn self. She started her life in Montana in the 1930s and eventually made her way to Tucson where she bought her own home—a true feat for a single woman in those days.
She worked as a secretary for an insurance company, but we all knew who was really in charge. That was where she met her second husband, Byron Davis, and they worked together for many years, balancing work life with their blended families. That house she purchased eventually became a temporary home to her step children and grandchildren over the years. She always had an open-door policy, but anyone who was anyone to her knew to use the side entrance.
From a young age, she took “love thy neighbor” to heart and was happy to chat with any person who crossed her path, no matter who they were or where they came from. She was endlessly curious and openminded about how different people lived their lives, and she was bold and direct in her line of questioning. How much did your house cost? What is the Pride parade? and other such questions were common consequences of taking a seat on her couch.
Helyn was a force. Despite being born 30 years before the start of the women’s liberation movement, Helyn never once thought twice about making her own way in the world. Her most enduring trait that she passed on to her family is her strength of character and her independence. She was a tough woman to please with high standards, but her genuine smile and sweet giggle made them more than an ideal goal to meet.
She was also a generous philanthropist, giving most frequently and fervently to the Pima County Animal Shelter and any group in support of the loving care of animals.
She proudly cared for herself, her two dogs, and her home, even tending to the yard on her own until she fell ill just a few short weeks before her death at the age of 90. She left behind her dogs, Bernard and Whitey, a pup who fortuitously came to her bearing her late husband’s nickname.
A few kind souls greeted her into the afterlife including her doting husband, Byron “Whitey”; her stepdaughter, Kristina; her stepson, Kim; and her grandson, Andrew along with the more than twenty dogs she rescued in her long lifetime. She will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered by her daughter, Lynda; her stepdaughter, Darby; her granddaughters Heather, Lauren, Jordan, and Sierra; her grandson, Skyler; her great granddaughters, Adalynne and Audrey; and her dear and constant friends, Tom and Sherry. We will forever love and cherish the snarky, tenacious woman that we were lucky enough to count among our family.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, charitable donations be made to local humane societies or animal shelters. In this way, her lifelong mission of helping animals in need will benefit organizations across the country.
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