Larry William Davis
10/10/1947 - 09/21/2024
Larry William Davis, age 76, of Houston, Texas, passed away on Saturday, September 21, 2024, surrounded by his loving family.
Larry was born on October 10, 1947, to Elsie Ray Davis and William K. Davis in Houston, Texas. He was the eldest of three children and grew up with a loving family
He is survived by his wife, Deborah, sisters, Susie Austin and Jan Alexander, Uncle and Aunt Jim and Reggie Ann Davis and Aunt Sandra Davis, and three children and their spouses: Greg and Britt Davis, Wendy Hall and Clayton Platt, Mark and Jennifer Davis and grandchildren Kayla, Jasmyn, Madyson, Ashlyn, Phoebe, Mason, Will, Zeina, and Logan, great-grandchildren, Ashton and Payton, and many nieces and nephews who will continue to honor his legacy by living their lives to the fullest, grateful for his immeasurable influence in their lives.
To honor Larry's memory, family and friends are encouraged to wear Western chic attire to the memorial service, with boots and hats encouraged as a heartfelt nod to his enduring love for Western style and the family business.
In remembrance of Larry's life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to Rice University Athletics at https://riceconnect.rice.edu/giving or the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at rodeohouston.com/Donate/?code=MemorialFund .
A memorial service to honor Larry's life will be held at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home & Cemetery, at 13001 Katy Fwy., Houston, Texas, 77079, on Sunday, October 27, 2024, at 2 p.m. Following the memorial service, the family will host a reception at the funeral home to gather together and celebrate Larry's life and the cherished memories they shared with him.
For a more extensive obituary and story of Larry's life please refer to the Memorial Oaks Funeral Home website listed below.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Houston Chronicle on Oct. 13, 2024.

Memories and Condolences
for Larry Davis

Sponsored by Memorial Oaks Funeral Home & Cemetery.

2 Entries

Sam Reed

October 24, 2024

Family, Friends & Rice Owls

In our senior year at Rice, Larry was elected one of three captains of the 1969 football team. It was a prestigious honor bestowed on our then all-time leading pass receiver and his two teammates- Steve and Sam. As student athletes, all Rice jocks of our era played for Rice´s Honor amidst cultural, political and racial unrest that convulsed our Baby Boomer generation´s coming of age. Amongst those Owls who endured the turmoil of the late 60´s on the fields of play, Larry stood out as a real champion, true to his team and loyal to his school.

On the gridiron at Rice Stadium, the legacy of Jess Neely´s Southwest Conference tenure ended with the Owls´ first ever winless season in 1968. Locally, after a protracted legal battle, Rice was desegregated and no longer tuition free as portions of its 1891 charter were revoked. Nationally, the late 1960s were a particularly fraught era as the Summer of Love and Woodstock degenerated into the chaos of anti-war protests, inner city race riots, the Chicago Seven trial and MLK- RFK assassinations.

Always a collegiate outlier in both academics and athletics, the Rice community launched a $33 million development campaign to broaden its curriculum in architecture, expand its physical plant of engineering labs and establish its educational bona fides in racial and gender equality. In parallel, Rice football led all five intercollegiate Owls teams (men only until the 80s) in improving their SWC or NCAA standings in both 1969 and 1970. Football provided the initial opening to sports desegregation at Rice as all three of our first Black recruits were recognized with All SWC Team honors, thanks in no small part to the support of Larry and other veterans.

The mention of such accolades, now five decades past, reminds me of my thirty varsity games on the line of scrimmage with #80 on the flank as our primary wide receiver. Our conference schedules were always challenging, often brutal, as UT and Arkansas claimed five national championships in the 60s decade. Non conference visits pitted us against the members of the Big Ten, Pac-8 and SEC. Whether home or away, whether SWC or non-conference, Larry always reminded me of the sign posted in the Oklahoma and Notre Dame home team locker rooms-"Play Like A Champion Today."

Go Owls!

Sam K Reed
Rice, 1970

October 13, 2024

May the love of friends and family carry you through your grief.

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