Obituary of Eleanora Briscoe Davis

Eleanora Briscoe Davis A Memorial Service for Eleanora Briscoe Davis, a life-long and well-known resident of Elsberry will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 3, 2011 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry. Rev. Paul Garven, pastor of the Elsberry United Methodist Church will officiate with burial in the Elsberry City Cemetery. Mrs. Davis, 92, passed away Wednesday morning, November 23, 2011 at the home of her granddaughter in Elsberry. Born near Briscoe, MO on January 2, 1919, she was the daughter of Wallace Ephraim and Hazel Nichols Briscoe. Mrs. Davis often related that when she was born the doctor traveled to her parents' home on horseback with snow up to the horses' belly. Her ancestral family and that of her husband, King F. Davis, were early settlers of Lincoln County with both families' arrival here in the early 1800s. The towns of Briscoe and Davis, near Troy, are named for these two families. Except for living a short time in East Port Orchard, WA while Mr. Davis served in the Navy during World War II, they were both life-long residents of Elsberry. Eleanora attended Elsberry schools and graduated from High School with the class of 1937. She married King Francis Davis in Elsberry on May 27, 1939. After Mr. Davis' service in WWII, the couple bought a small farm near New Hope, added to it and developed a beautiful and productive livestock operation. After Mr. Davis' death in 1980, Mrs. Davis and her family transformed their farm into the Sun Valley Golf Course. The beautiful natural surroundings of the Golf Course were part of the Davis family until it was sold in 2003. Mr. Davis was a member of Elsberry's 1935 State Championship Track Team (the first state championship won by Elsberry). Mrs. Davis and her family contributed the use of the Sun Valley Golf Course for the Elsberry High School Cross-Country Teams, and in 1998 the Elsberry High School Girls Cross Country Team won the school's second state championship. Tyger Davis, the granddaughter of Eleanor and King, was a member of that team. On September 10, 2011 the golf course served as the sentimental site of the wedding of Tyger and Kevin Hill. In 2002 Mrs. Davis moved from the family farm to Taylor Terrace where she enjoyed the company and friendship of many of her childhood friends who were also widowed and living in that community. While living there she was one of the few residents that were able to drive and she enjoyed driving her friends to the Elsberry IGA, Elsberry Pharmacy and the Palmer Library. She was an avid reader and donated many books to the Palmer Library as well as enjoyed the friendship of the library staff. Mrs. Davis gave up driving and moved to her granddaughter, Tyger's home on Broadway in Elsberry in September. She was a long-time member of the Elsberry United Methodist Church and the Elsberry Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. Besides her parents, Wallace and Hazel Briscoe, she was preceded in death by two brothers: James Taylor Briscoe as an infant, and Joseph Marlowe Briscoe; two sisters: O'Thella Robinson and Juanita Fries; and her beloved husband of 40 years, King Davis who died September 17, 1980. Survivors include her daughter, Ann Dyniewicz and her husband, Dick, of Kirkwood, MO; two sons: COL King F. Davis, Jr. of Elsberry and Glendora, CA, and Kerry Davis and his wife, Peggy, of Elsberry; seven granddaughters, eight great-grandchildren, several nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and numerous cherished friends and acquaintances developed from living almost 93 years in this community. Visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. until time of the Memorial Service at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 3, 2011 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry. Memorials may be made to the Joseph R. Palmer Family Memorial Library or to the Elsberry United Methodist Church in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 107 South Fifth Street, Elsberry, MO 63343. Online condolences may be made at www.carterricksfuneralhome.com.