Dr. Donald R. Davis

Beloved family man and dentist, Donald Ray Davis, Sr., DDS, passed away peacefully Dec. 20, 2025. Born April 17, 1931, in Jackson, Ohio, to Orin W. and Marie (McDaniel) Davis, whose families had deep roots in Jackson and Gallia Counties.

The youngest of the five Davis children, his childhood centered on school, church and music, which was a thread that ran through his entire life. The children sang as a group at church and in the Welsh singing competitions that were standard in Jackson.

Don moved to Columbus as a teen when his father took a job with the Ohio Department of Education and made it his lifelong home. He was a proud member of the Columbus North Polar Bear Class of 1949. Showing his versatility, he was captain of the football team and lead actor in The Mikado. He graduated from Ohio State Dental School in 1956. He also attended the 1950 Snow Bowl wearing his pilot brother Mac's flight suit.

A pivotal moment in Don's life occurred when he was injured in a toboggan accident on the old Indian Springs Golf Course. His broken back took him out of further athletic pursuits and off the freshman roster of the Ohio State baseball and football teams.

Don gifted many with his beautiful tenor voice, including at weddings to help pay for college. He met his wife Jeanne Grady Davis (who passed away May 2024) at one such event and she became the love of his life for the next 70+ years.

They wed Sept. 18, 1954, at Holy Rosary Church.

After Don graduated from dental school, he volunteered for the "doctor draft" of 1956 and served at Fort Richardson Army Base in Anchorage.

Don's love for the outdoors was sealed in Alaska. Black and white photos showing the young Army captain with a stringer of salmon and skiing down the slopes are treasured family heirlooms.

After military service, the couple settled in Columbus and Don started his dental practice near the corner of Amazon Place and High Street in Clintonville. The couple's six children attended Immaculate Conception (I.C.), Bishop Watterson High School, and Ohio State.

Don was the ultimate family man spending countless hours at various parties and activities for and with his children and seven grandsons. He was known as GreatPa to his precious great grandchildren. He loved his sons- and daughters-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Don's commute to his dental office was half a block to High Street. Throngs of his patients loved him. They would recount how he always had a steady hand, calming presence and melodious hum. There was a big sigh when he retired.

He had a great love of the beauty of nature. He painstakingly tended gorgeous landscapes and surrounding gardens at all his homes. He thrilled in all of it including design, color composition, planting, weeding, uprooting and redoing. He fished on beautiful lakes and streams, fed the birds and gazed at the stars.

Don was a convert to the Catholic faith which was a constant in his life. Don and Jeanne belonged to I.C., Our Lady of Peace when they lived in The Knolls, and St. Andrew when they lived on Mackenzie Drive.

Don had numerous interests and volunteer activities: Expert gardener, avid reader, skilled blackjack player, I.C. baseball coach, president of the Watterson school board, youth football referee with his brother Walter, I.C. and St. Andrew choirs, volunteer blood courier for Red Cross Blood Services, and ESL tutor. In 2006, Jeanne and Don were honored with the "Joined Hearts in Giving" Governors Award for their tireless volunteer work. He was a passionate sports fan following the Buckeyes, Reds and Bengals.

Don and Jeanne threw epic parties, especially on the Fourth of July at their house which bordered the Whetstone Park celebration, and their biennial Beat Michigan blasts.

Don and Jeanne traveled throughout the USA to many national parks, Buckeye away games, the Rose Bowl, World's Fair, Las Vegas, and the American Southwest.

Don lived his elderly years with grace and contentment of a life well lived. He stayed up on all the news and sports. He put his trust in his family and faith to see him through after losing Jeanne just shy of 70 years of marriage.

He is survived by his six children, seven grandsons and four great grandchildren–Julie (John) Keckstein; Don Jr. (Jennie); Mark; Scott (Beth) and their four sons-Andy (Laura) and their children Anna and Logan, Tim (Daniela) and their baby Mateo, Joe (Audrey) and their baby Elle, and Tyler; Laura (Charles) Tonkin and Charles' children, Julie and Patrick and grandson, Adrian; and Brian (Dominica) and their three sons-Blaise (Alexandra), Noah and Grady.

He is also survived by sister-in-law Gloria (Walter deceased) Davis and sister- and brother-in-law, Joyce Grady (Sam) Bell. He will be missed by his many beloved Davis and Grady nieces and nephews and their families.

Preceded in death by infant granddaughter Carmen Marie Davis and step grandson Tyler, along with his parents and siblings Mac Davis, Beryl (Bob) Pope, Hazel (Arthur) Burt and Walter Davis. Jeanne's parents James and Julia (Keavy) Grady and Jeanne's brothers and sisters Jimmy, Julian (Donna), Jerry (Joan), Joann (Dick) Keefe and Joe.

All remembrances are Saturday Dec. 27 at Immaculate Conception Church, 414 E N Broadway St: final respects begin at 10 AM. in the back of the church, where the family will greet guests; followed by funeral mass at 11 AM, and luncheon with remembrances immediately following mass (all at I.C.). Private burial at Resurrection Cemetery at a later date.

In honor of our Dad's love of youth sports, donations may be made to the I.C. Athletic Association c/o Immaculate Conception Parish, 414 EN Broadway, Columbus OH 43214 or online at https://giving.parishsoft.com/App/Giving/imma414160