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John P. Davis Jr. Obituary

Visit the Legacy Remembers website to view the full obituary.

John Pershing Davis, Jr., aged 79, fondly known to many as "Big Bad John," peacefully departed on April 25th, 2024, embraced by his adoring family in Savannah, Georgia. He held cherished roles as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend, leaving an indelible mark of kindness, wisdom, and humor on the hearts of all who crossed his path.

John was born in Orlando, FL on May 27th, 1944. He graduated from Collegedale Academy in Collegedale, TN, and began pursuing his passions and interests, which attributed to quite the thrill ride of a career. From his days as chief of police in a small Tennessee town to his ventures as an entrepreneur and finally establishing a well-respected business, Tradebank (his second love), where he served as CEO for over 35 years, he poured his heart into everything he did. He loved working and traveling; his passion was helping his clients. When he wasn't working, he loved metal detecting, playing with his grandchildren, telling stories, and cranking up his music (often deafening), indulging his passion for speeding down the road. He always made time for a pit stop at Dairy Queen for his favorite sweet treat: a chocolate malt - extra thick.

His unwavering dedication to his Seventh-Day Adventist faith was evident in his life, as he found strength and solace in his spiritual beliefs. His loyalty and contributions to his church community testify to his steadfast commitment to serving others.

John is survived by his wife, Leonora Davis; his three daughters, Stephanie (Bill) Sheehan, Valerie Hale, and Jennifer (Jon) Cabrera; his grandchildren, Hunter, Cameron, Callie, Faith, James, and Waylon; his brothers, Gary, Michael, and David; and nieces, nephews, and great-grandchildren. They will continue to cherish his memory and carry forward his legacy of compassion and humor.

A memorial service/celebration of life will be held on May 18th at 3:00 pm at Cherokee SDA Church, 101 Rope Mill Road, Woodstock, GA 30188.

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Recent Activity

May 18, 2024

Doug Sleeth posted to the memorial.

May 17, 2024

Mark Caldwell posted to the memorial.

May 16, 2024

Antonio Campbell posted to the memorial.

4 Entries

Doug Sleeth

May 18, 2024

I met John as a Tradebank member first and then became a Tradebank Franchisee and later MyChoice Franchisee. John was an Innovative Entrepreneur and business savvy sales professional. I consider him a mentor in my life and growth as an Entrepreneur. I always enjoyed the meetings of him sharing his mind and ideas with us. May the family and friends be comforted in his loss.

Mark Caldwell

May 17, 2024

Trust people in their professions and "always assume the sale"

Antonio Campbell

May 16, 2024

Antonio Campbell

My memory of John Davis:

Many years ago, I had just finished a project, when a friend asked me if I could check out a company in Lawrenceville for him called MyChoice.

I went to a meeting and spoke afterwards with John. He explained that he wanted to expand the marketing system, and demonstrated a streaming TV box to be used with a TV play-out system. I informed him that my background was in broadcast engineering. John invited me to come onboard to help him build the system he called MyChoice Networks. I believe he had a great idea so we built the system.

One day John brought to me an accident report and said, "Do you remember this?" Remembering that he told me he was in the police force, I quickly looked at it and saw my name and John´s on the report.

Fifteen years before, and one year after moving from New York to Stone Mountain Georgia, I was at the traffic light on Covington and Stone Mountain Hwy, when someone ran into the back of my car. I was on my way to trade it in for a new car at a Toyota dealer. That person was Mr. John Davis.

Neither John nor I remembered each other fifteen years after that accident.
We looked at each other and both agreed that this was an unusual coincidence.

I really admired John´s entrepreneurial spirit and drive. He was endowed with the ability to come up with some really good ideas. However, as he himself would say, in business you have to have all your ducks lined up for things to work out properly.

John had a warm, welcoming and open personality and will always greet you with a smile; he will be missed by many. We certainly had a friendly, trusting and respectful working relationship.

John was never afraid to share his faith with his business partners and whoever was willing to listen.

May John receive the eternal peace from our Creator and redeemer he so often said he desired and may his legacy of love for his Creator live on through his family.

Lael Caldwell

May 13, 2024

My first meeting with John was at a Tradebank holiday gathering. We connected quickly. I was fascinated listening to him share how he built Tradebank. I offered to write a series of articles regarding how he built Tradebank using his sales strategies.i wanted to get his thoughts and processes in writing and I thought it would be fun to interview him. We were both super excited about the idea.