John L Davis

John L Davis, 81, retired employee of Monsanto Chemical Company and resident of Columbia, died Saturday, January 28, 2017, at Maury Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday at 11:00 A.M. at First Family Baptist Church with Pastor Rick Blevins officiating. Burial will follow in Knob Creek Cemetery with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post 19. The family will visit with friends Tuesday from 4:00 - 8:00 P.M. at First Family Baptist Church. Oakes & Nichols Funeral Directors are assisting the family with arrangements. The family suggests memorials to Knob Creek Cemetery Fund, c/o Tim Fitzgerald, 1209 Hunters Point Lane, Spring Hill, TN 37174, Juvenile Diabetes Research, 105 Westpark Drive, #415, Brentwood, TN 37027, or Zion Christian Academy, 6901 Old Zion Road, Columbia, TN 38401. Condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com. The Maury County native was the son of the late John Elwood Davis and the late Frances Mayberry Davis. On October 13, 1962, he married his wife of fifty-four years, Sonja Kay Howell Davis who survives. After his 1953 graduation from Columbia Central High School, Mr. Davis attended Railroad Communications School in Kansas City, Missouri prior to serving in the U. S. Army in Fort Lewis, Washington. He then attended Tennessee Tech. In addition to being a thirty-one-year employee of Monsanto, he was a lifelong real estate investor, enjoyed farming and traveling, snow skiing and ice skating. He was an avid reader and took every chance to self-educate himself. He was very devoted to his family. Mr. Davis was dedicated to serving God and His church as a former fifty-plus year member of Knob Creek Baptist Church, where he was ordained as Deacon in 1989. He was currently a member of First Family Baptist Church. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughters, Monica Davis (Scott) Elias and Johnifer Davis King, both of Columbia; sisters, Carrol Fay (Jerry) Walters and Barbara (Charles) Keltner, both of Columbia; grandchildren, Tori Elias, John Michael King, Sophie Elias, Rachel King; brother-in-law, Kirby C. (Olivia) Howell of Columbia; and nieces and nephews, Sammy (Tammy) Walters, Deric Keltner, Kimberly (Phillip) Pullen, David (Samantha) Howell, and Dana Walters. He was preceded in death by a nephew, Michael Walters; and brother-in-law, Artie Ray Howell. Active pallbearers will be Sammy Walters, Deric Keltner, David Howell, Phillip Pullen, Allen Hampton, and Jimmy Fitzgerald. Honorary pallbearers will include McDonald's Evening Friends and former Monsanto Employees.