Paul R. Davis

Paul R. Davis passed away on July 12th, 2024, at the age of 79 with his wife, Karen, by his side. Born October 2nd, 1944 in Seattle, Washington to Tim and Betty Davis, Paul spent most of his young years living in Portland and then Scholls, Oregon, where his father owned and tended an orchard of walnut, filbert, and prune trees. He attended Woodstock Elementary in Portland and then Groner Elementary in Scholls and then went on to Hillsboro Union High School (Hilhi) where he excelled in math and the sciences, graduating in 1962. He went on to receive a B.A. from Linfield College (now University) in 1966 and a subsequent Ph.D. in Physics from Washington State University in 1972 after which he did his post-doctoral work at the Fritz Haber Institut Max Planck Gesellschaft in Berlin, Germany. He also spent 2 years with researchers at the University of Bristol where he studied the surface physics of moon rocks. After returning to the U.S. in 1975 he worked at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. While he was living in California he met and married Karen Davis (Thompson), the love of his life. Returning to Oregon in 1978, he worked at the Oregon Graduate Institute where he did research in thermionic energy conversion and electron beam field emission and taught, eventually serving as the Physics Department Chair. Bringing with him over 1 million dollars in research grants, he returned to his alma mater, Linfield, in 1991 to teach. While at Linfield he taught physics, astronomy, and meteorology, did research at LRI and also served as department head for 4 years before retiring.
Paul was not only a scientist, but he was also an outdoorsman. He loved backpacking, fishing, and duck hunting with a good Labrador retriever as a companion. He had been on many backpacking trips to the Sierra Mountains in California and the Wallowa Mountains and Three Sisters in Oregon. Always a dog lover (especially Labs) Paul had many dogs throughout his life, Labs Jack, Mille, and Lucy to name a few. Paul also liked to garden, growing garlic, asparagus, and a variety of peppers in his raised gardens. Other favorites of his were going on cruises, working on his boats, playing cards with friends, watching football and auto racing, reading a good book, and drinking a good beer. He was loved by many as a friendly easy going guy and a patient teacher. He will be dearly missed.
Paul is preceded in death by his parents, Tim and Betty Davis. He is survived by his wife Karen Davis, his sister Judy Hixson, his children Steven Davis (Debra), Kimberly Sawyer, and Lela Gustine, grandchildren Samantha, Damon, Cassie, Natalie, Wesley, and Delaney, and great-grandchildren Kholton, and Shadow.
A celebration of Paul's life will be held on Saturday, July 27th, 2024, 1:00pm at Macy and Son Funeral Home, 135 NE Evans Street, McMinnville, OR 97128. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to your favorite charity on Paul's behalf.