Carolyn Davis

Carolyn Davis finally let go at the age of 94. Her work here is done. Preceded in death by her husband Lynn H. Davis, she is survived by her four children, Bob (Peggy), Mike (Kathleen) Beth (John Kerry), Joe (Michelle Miller), seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Carolyn lived a long, interesting and purposeful life. She received her BS in Nursing from Indiana University in 1953 and went on to work in both community and hospital settings early in her career. Carolyn would describe her early years as a registered nurse before there was a vaccine for diseases like polio, when she would care for polio patients in iron lungs and explain to families that their new bathtub wasn’t for coal storage. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Carolyn was a big fan of the Indianapolis 500 race and often worked at the first aid station on race day. She was the first woman commissioned in the Indiana Air National Guard as a nurse lieutenant. She was always up for a new adventure as long as it involved service to others or learning something new.

After marrying Lynn Davis in 1958, his career took the family to St. Louis in the early 1960s. In 1966, Carolyn accepted a new position as the Health Services Director for St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley where she worked for over 30 years. Even before the campus was built, Carolyn was setting the standard for what college health services would look like for years to come. She created an office that did more than take care of sick or injured students and faculty. Under her guidance, the college health service offices at STLCC reached out into the North St Louis County community to hold events like vaccine clinics and programs educating the community on disease and prevention. In the early 1970s, Carolyn saw a need for health care access that didn’t require having a regular doctor. She came up with the idea of opening her offices in the evening for Planned Parenthood to provide people with care. She was in the first wave of health care providers to offer AIDS testing, counseling and prevention information. Her door was always open to anyone needing help. For much of her career with STLCC, Carolyn was active in the American College Health Care Association serving in many capacities including President. She’d laugh saying she did all this while raising a husband and four kids.

Carolyn truly loved her family and devoted herself to making sure they each had what they needed to succeed. She also loved spending time on the family’s old houseboat along the

Mississippi River. When her children got older, Carolyn enjoyed traveling the world. She learned to ski in Austria, she spent some happy summers working an archeological dig in Syria, she studied in Russia and traveled extensively, often with groups from the St. Louis Archeology Association (AIA). She toured Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, parts of Europe and Central America. Carolyn was always about adventure, making new friends and learning. In her later years she spent more time traveling within the United States and keeping an eye on her adult children who weren’t always up at 5 a.m. raring to go like she was.

Her wit, her energy, her spirit and service to others will be missed. Over the course of her life, Carolyn helped so many people, that it wasn’t uncommon to walk into a store, a restaurant, museum or the occasional bar and hear someone shout “Hi Carolyn!” As a final act of service, Carolyn made the decision years ago to skip the funeral and donate her body to Washington University School of Medicine. Carolyn’s family will always be grateful for the loving and compassionate care provided by BJC Hospice. Donations in her memory to Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, BJC Hospice or the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater St. Louis are appreciated.