Margaret Royall Davis

Mrs. Margaret Royall Davis, wife of the late Dr. James Evans Davis died Wednesday at Hillcrest Convalescent Center in Durham. Mrs. Davis was born in Goldsboro on February 19, 1920, daughter of the late General Kenneth Claiborne Royall and Margaret Best Royall. General Royall was the last Secretary of War and the first Secretary of the Army. Inaddition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her eldest son, son James Evans Davis, Jr. in 1980 and her brother, Senator Kenneth C. Royall, Jr., of Durham.
Mrs. Davis was a graduate of Goldsboro High School and Saint Mary's School in Raleigh. She was also a graduate of Sweet Briar College and Columbia University, where she received a master's degree in early childhood education.
Dr. and Mrs. Davis were married on June 14, 1943 in Goldsboro, NC. They then lived in New York City,where Dr. Davis did his surgical residency at the New York Hospital. The Davis' and their three sons moved to Durham in 1951.
Mrs. Davis immediately poured her heart and soul into community activities. She was instrumental in setting up the pre-school Department at St. Phillip's Episcopal Church, employing many innovative techniques to teach children The Book of Common Prayer and The Bible. At Watts Street School, she was extremely active in school activities; The Cub Scouts, The PTA and her beloved Halloween Festival.
Mrs. Davis was also involved in Allied Arts of Durham, the Junior League of Durham and theColonial Dames of NC. She was a board member of the Durham United Way, Community Planning Services, the Durham Day Care Council, Durham Nursery School and the Durham Housing Authority. In all of her volunteer work, her attention was focused on the health and education of young children.
In 1972, she chaired the United Way Task Force on Child Care and led in the establishment of the Durham Day Care Council in 1974.
Mrs. Davis was named the 1976 Key Volunteer Leader by Volunteer Services Bureau and Durham Morning Herald for her ""countless hours of enthusiastic commitment in the organization and leadership of the Day Care Council and its positive steps to improve and expand child care services in Durham.""
Mrs. Davis received the outstanding services to children award in 1990 from the North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute for her leadership role in establishing the Durham Day Care Council, the state's first child care resource and referral program.
Mrs. Davis is survived by two sons, Kenneth Royall Davis, of Atlantic Beach, and George Harrison Davis, of San Miguel Allende, Mexico.
A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Monday at St. Philip's Episcopal Church. The Rev. Scott Benhase will officiate. Interment will follow at Maplewood Cemetery. Pallbearers will be; Robert P. Canavan, Daniel W. Davis III, Ben F. Dixon IV, Jere Z. Royall, Kenneth C. Royall III, and Carlyle C. White.
A reception will follow the committal service at the Washington Duke Inn.
There will be a visitation Sunday from 3 to 5 pm at Howerton-Bryan Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorialsmay be made to the Margaret Royall Davis Endowment Fund at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 403 East Main St. Durham, NC 27701.