Marion Clifton "M.C." Davis

1944 - 2015

Marion Clifton Davis, "M.C." passed away on July 11, 2015, at the age of 70.
M.C. is survived by his wife of 51 years Stella (Riley) Davis; children, Crystal (Timothy) Baumann, Lisa (Patrick) Chisholm, and Wendy (Christopher) Pappas, along with the loves of his life, his five granddaughters, Claire Chisholm, Alex Marcello, Julia Chisholm, Mary-Shelton Pappas and Lizzie Pappas. He is also survived by his two sisters, Frankie Sciolino and Cyndi Harwell and by his nephew Preston Harwell.
M.C. was born on October 18, 1944, in Douglas, Ga. M.C. married Stella, his high school sweetheart, in 1963. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1970 with a degree in Political Science. He received his J. D. from Samford Law School in 1973.
M.C.'s successful career spanned many decades, industries and locations. He often said when meeting someone for the first time, "I've had more careers than most men have had dates!" M.C. Davis was a true visionary in both the business world and the conservation world. He was an inspiration to many people.
M.C. liked to be able to control events to the best of his ability and he was very adept at having a plan and carrying out that plan with great efficiency and success. M.C. was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in November of 2014. Like most people who get that news, M.C. sought the best medical advice available and weighed his options. He went through months of treatments with chemotherapy and radiation. Unfortunately none of the treatments had any positive results in his battle with cancer. Over the months, M.C.'s cancer continued to spread and he was in tremendous pain.
For those of us who knew M.C. well, we were not shocked by the events that happened on Saturday, July 11, 2015. M.C. had a tremendous love of nature and felt a compelling responsibility to insure the long-term preservation and sustainability of biodiversity and natural ecosystems. He cherished every moment he had at Nokuse Plantation and he dedicated his life to its mission and success. M.C. was within a very short time of dying of natural causes. He did not want to die in a hospital bed, with tubes, not being able to move or speak. That wasn't M.C. He didn't want to burden others. He didn't want to die that way. Given M.C.'s personality traits, his propensity to want to be in charge of events, M.C. went to the place he loved most and ended his life. It was on his terms, his way with him in charge. M.C. left this world in true M.C. fashion. He had a plan, he carried it out flawlessly and he died at a place he loved the most. His terms - his way.
The legacy of M. C. Davis is Nokuse Plantation and the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center. He would want nothing more than for both to continue their collective mission of restoring and preserving viable ecosystems that support native plants and animals and of educating the public about the importance of conserving the world's biodiversity.
He will be greatly missed by his family, long-term friends and partners, employees and the natural world of Walton County.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to Nokuse Education, Inc., in care of The E. O. Wilson Biophilia Center, 4956 State Highway 20, Freeport, FL 32439. For online condolences, please visit www.Mclaughlinmortuary.com