John W. Davis
age 71, formerly of Calumet City, IL and Flossmoor, IL passed away Saturday, May 26, 2018. John is survived by his loving children, Gunnar (spouse Nicole) Davis of Oswego, IL, Spencer Davis of Crete, IL, Johnna Davis of Kerala, India and Jason Davis of Chicago Heights, IL; mother of his children, Nancy Davis of Crete, IL; 3 grandchildren, Tyler, Gavin and Chelsea Davis; and sister Mary Lou (late Gordon, late Mac). He is preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Mamie Davis; and siblings, Chuck, Pat and Margie.
A Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at Solan Pruzin Funeral Home, 14 Kennedy Ave., (corner of Main and Kennedy) Schererville, IN 46375 from 4:00-8:00 PM. A Funeral Service will be held at Solan Pruzin Funeral Home on Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 12:00 PM with Father Paul Seaman officiating. John will be laid to rest at Concordia Cemetery in Hammond, Indiana.
John graduated Thornton Fractional North High School in 1964, and University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1968, which he attended on a full-scholarship to play football, and was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. As a freshman he earned the bragging rights of being clotheslined during a scrimmage by the legendary Dick Butkus, who was a senior. After graduation he moved to Lansing, IL where he had his first opportunity to apply his knack for team strategy at T.F. South High School, teaching Driver’s Ed. and coaching football and wrestling. Having started a family, he took part-time bartending work at the exclusive fine dining restaurant Isabelle’s in Thornton, IL, where his personable nature and determined work ethic led him to progress into a restaurant management position. Here he was first exposed to applying creativity to his skill set, and the challenge to make a strategy for cost-effectiveness. He next worked for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, under renowned restauranteur Rich Melman, building his exposure to the business at multiple restaurants including Lawrence of Oregano in Chicago, IL. Finding opportunity closer to home, he joined the Big Wheel Red Wheel Company which included Maxwell Sweeney’s in Calumet City and Jeremiah Sweeney’s in Orland Park, IL. As a pioneer of themed restaurants, his debut restaurant Leonardo Al Dente in Orland Park, IL captured the hearts of the sophisticated crowd with its crafted Northern Italian specialties. Every item was homemade and fresh, including the pasta! In spite of having a stellar review from food critic James Beard, the venture folded when it lost the funding of its backer. Afterwards, he flourished for the next 20 years as General Manager and eventually co-owner of Tavern in the Oaks in Calumet City, IL. Real estate opportunities piqued his interest and he soon obtained his real estate and brokerage licenses. He began a career in land development and home construction. He formed the Davis Development Corporation, co-owned J & T Homes, and later created Homes by Davis. John employed and involved his sons and daughter in the entire construction and design process of the homes. He developed subdivisions and homes throughout the south suburbs of Chicago, building more than four hundred homes. After the housing crash of 2008, John retired from building. He began a diligent study of Trading, which captured his fascination both because of his love for strategy, but also as a spiritual endeavor. He regarded Trading as a challenging craft which demanded the practice and strengthening of peace of mind. Trading, he always said, was one of the hardest things he has ever done. However, he was patient knowing if he just put in enough time, eventually he would reach 10,000 hours toward mastery and earn his success. Through extensive discipline and restraint, he paved his was into profitability.
He always said, “ever since I was young I always wanted to build things.” He said that the restaurant business allowed him to build each plate in such a way where it was an amazing dish to look at and taste. Moreover, it also had to be cost effective and also make sense from a production point of view for the cooks. He took everything into account. He applied the same values when he went into homebuilding making sure it was a quality product for a fair profit as well as productive efforts. This same philosophy carried over to trading where he built each trade making it have logical sense in many inner related ways.
John had a brilliant mind and we will always love him and miss him, with gratitude. But most importantly, he will always be a free spirit full of joy that we carry with us in our hearts.
Thank you Dad, we Love you 😊
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