Adeline Davis

1928 - 2017

Ms. Adeline M. Davis passed on peacefully, from this life, surrounded by family members, at 2:00 p.m. June 21. She successfully won a battle with lung cancer this year although succumbing to combined pulmonary issues. The final six weeks involved recurrent stays in hospital and rehabilitation therapy facilities, which led to a courageous decision to enter hospice care. "This isn't living, it's just existing." "Addie" was born in Waukegan (IL) and grew up in the "Little Armenia" area, during a simpler and straightforward time when neighborhoods were defined by the immigrant ethnicities working at the lakefront Washburn-Moen wire mill. The basic values of kindness, honesty, self-reliance, and respect for other people through a shared sense of community were instilled from an early age. At 21, she moved to Chicago and began a career as a legal secretary and administrative assistant with several prominent law firms, while singing in cabarets and nightclubs in the evening, indulging her passion for music. An album containing her vocal renditions of jazz and popular music standards was recorded at the famed Cloister Inn, backed solely by jazz pianist, Eddie Higgins. In the 1960s, she met Don Davis, a pianist and orchestra leader with regular engagements at the Palmer House and the Blackstone. They were married and moved to Lincoln Park West enjoying an active life together with a rotating group of friends including Abraham Lincoln scholars, Paul Angle and Jim Holly, history buffs, newspaper writers, and other musicians. They moved to Friendship (IN), where they operated a trading post for supplies and goods that became a de facto congregation center for muzzle-loading shooters and Americana enthusiasts. Another passion was developed in learning the craft of quilt-making and fabric art. She returned to Waukegan in the 1980s, and began a 12-year tenure as Secretary to the Chief Judges of Lake County, in the Waukegan courthouse. The quiet caring ways, an open and easy demeanor, as well as a sincere work ethic, endeared her to many people including legal professionals and evolved into lifelong friendships. Her time was also spent volunteering, such as service with the Immaculate Conception soup kitchen. She attended St. Paul Armenian Church, with her sister, Elizabeth, whom she lived with until her death in 2007, and then moved to Highland Park. Not one to sit still, she traveled around the country and the world with friends and relatives. Her quilts of many types, with stunning detail and highly-individual creative patterns, earned her a place in the art world and recognition as a premier fabric artist. She was requested to give exhibitions of her work at prestigious locations, and continued to enrich her life by taking classes at the Highland Park Arts Center. She was preceded in death by her parents, Manoog and Veronica Mangoian, her brothers, Karl and Hachig, and her sisters, Susan, Elizabeth and Rose. She is survived by numerous generations of family members, and a strong circle of friends. Everyone that knew "Addie" loved her, and she would easily return that gift ten-fold. "Yet know, my friends, that I am living still...when from the world, my memory fades away, that is the time that I indeed shall die." The words of Armenian poet, Bedros Tourian, speak truly, and in that regard, "Addie" will always live. Her life, and memories of her, will never fade from our hearts. A visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 from 9:00 am until time of funeral mass 10:00 am at Immaculate Conception Church, 770 Deerfield Rd. Highland Park, IL. Interment private. For information please call Kelley & Spalding Funeral Home at (847) 831-4260 or www.kelleyspaldingfuneralhome.com