Rhoda A. Davis, 88, of Bend, a former Baker County resident, died June 22, 2001, at Bend.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at Bend. Mass will be celebrated by the Most Rev. Thomas J. Connolly, bishop emeritus, of the Diocese of Baker. Recitation of the rosary will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Niswonger, Reynolds & Tabor Chapel at Bend. Committal and burial will be at the Pilot Butte Cemetery.
Mrs. Davis was born on Sept. 4, 1912, at Wood River, Neb. Her family moved to Payette, Idaho, in 1916 when she was 4 and she attended school in that area. She married Alphonsus Michael Davis in Ontario on Sept. 7, 1928. Together they raised eight girls and seven boys.
The couple lived in and around Boise and Idaho City for the first years of their marriage. In 1940, they moved to Tacoma, Wash., where Mr. Davis worked in the shipyards during World War II. They moved to Baker City in 1945 and later had acreage in Haines for many years. In 1987, they moved to Bend to be with their daughter.
Mrs. Davis was a dedicated mother and wife. She was skilled in every aspect of homemaking, from cooking, canning and sewing to gardening. In 1958, she and Mr. Davis acquired a schoolhouse in the country, which she helped renovate for a home. She often remarked that she moved her family to the country schoolhouse to teach them a thing or two. It became her favorite home.
Mrs. Davis was active in school activities during the many years her children were attending school and was generally called upon to provide transportation to school as well for special events. Classmates and neighborhood children were always welcome at her home.
She was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.
Survivors include her sons, Patrick of Florence, Dennis of Las Vegas, Nev., Thomas of Bend and David of Toledo; daughters, Mary Ann Davis of Bend, Carolyn Ciula of Fresno, Barbara Walker and Sharon Davis of Florence, Kathy Mason and Betty Davis of Eugene and Therese Davis of Antioch, Calif.; two sisters, Mildred Darewit of Nevada City, Calif., and MaryLou Cartwright of Grass Valley, Calif.; and 30 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Al M. Davis, who died less than three weeks ago; her parents; three sons, John of Eugene, Robert of Tacoma, Wash., and Andrew of Baker City; a daughter, Helen of Bend; and a brother, Lowell of Placerville, Calif.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Diocese of Baker, 911 S.E. Armour Road, Bend, Ore. 97702.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, June 29, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor