Jim F. Davis

Jim Frank Davis, 81, a native and long time resident of Florida, passed away on Saturday, February 25, 2012. Jim was a well known educator in the Miami area. He was born June 29, 1930, in Victoria Hospital. He was the son of Harley Frank Davis, a prominent Coral Gables physician, and Aurora Elizabeth Recio.

Jim served as a U S Navy Medical Corpsman during the Korean War, deploying with the 1st Marine Division in 1950. He was awarded three Purple Hearts for three wounds he received while attending to his fellow Marines during battle.

Jim received his Bachelors degree in 1956 from the University of Miami and his Masters degree from Florida State University in 1965. His first teaching position was at West Miami Junior High in 1956. He was Principal in the DeKalb County, Georgia school system, from 1965 until 1968. Jim became Assistant Principal of Rockway Junior High School in Miami in 1968, and then served as Principal there from 1971 to 1988. He was the longest-serving Principal in this school history. In 1989 he became Principal of Shenandoah Junior High and served there until he retired in 1992. Jim, under Dr. Leonard Britton, was named one of the top ten Principals in Dade-County.

The ancestors of Jim Davis played important roles in the history of Florida. Lloyd Edmund Dillon, Jim's great-great-grandfather, was an early settler of Alachua County, before statehood, and is recognized as a Florida Pioneer with the Florida State Genealogical Society. His great-grandfather, Carlos Recio, came from Cuba to Key West in 1872. Carlos became a successful businessman in Key West and was a close friend of Cuban revolutionary Jose Marti, doing much to help the Cuban freedom effort during the struggle for independence from Spain. Another great-grandfather, George Washington Dillon was a US Marshall, and then Chief of Police in Key West. George later Captained the private yacht of Henry Flagler and eventually became Commodore of the Peninsular and Occidental fleet.

Since his retirement, Jim Davis divided his time between two residences on Big Torch Key and in Homestead. Jim was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed fishing and diving in the Keys. He and his wife Gerri served as volunteers for several years in the Lolo National Forest in western Montana. Jim while living in the keys was an active member of St. Mary Star of The Sea, serving as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister.

Jim is preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Alice Earl Davis and his two sisters, Consuela Sue Franklin and Aurora Marilou Denisch. He is survived by his wife, Geraldine Dortin Davis, his five children, Suzy (Jim) Thompson, Cindi (Ray) Roche, Connie (Rick) Vazquez, Frank (Debra) Davis and Rod (Kelly) Davis, 19 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.

Jim was a member of Sacred Heart Church.

A Memorial Service Mass will be held on Saturday March 3 2012 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 106 Southeast 1st Drive, at 1PM Homestead, Florida 33030. 305-247-4405.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests to please make donations to; FREDDOM VETERANS OF AMERICA, attn. ALEX KOVAC. P.O.BOX 961151, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33296-1151