William Joseph Davis

DAVIS, William Joseph, 92, passed away peacefully on the morning of February 10, 2024. Born October 24, 1931 in Advance, North Carolina, Bill was a longtime resident of Richmond, Virginia. He is survived by his wife of 69 years Marilyn Snow Davis, daughter Patricia Davis Leath and her husband Jefferson Leath, twin grandsons Mason Phillips Jefferson Leath and Davis Jefferson Tapscott Leath, and son Thomas Martin Davis and his wife Jane Buckley Tanner. He was predeceased by his parents Gladys Davis Davis and Tom Thumb Davis, and his brother Dallas Wayne Davis and sister Thomasene Davis Hauser.

Bill was this first in his family to attend college and paid his way through North Carolina State participating in the Army ROTC program and also by working at his father's barber shop in Winston-Salem and another in Raleigh. He finished second in his civil engineering class by a slim margin to his friend and roommate Don Kline. During their senior year, he and Don entered the annual NC State engineering contest and won, splitting the prize money of $125 leaving Bill with $62.50 to start his career with Columbia Southern Chemical in New Martinsville, West Virginia. In 1953 as a Second Lieutenant, he was called to Fort Bragg to serve in the Army Corps of Engineers. Marilyn graduated from UNC Greensboro and they married on July 3, 1954. The Army assigned Bill to a troop ship that survived a Pacific typhoon and as a platoon leader in the Korean Conflict near the DMZ. Upon his return, Bill and Marilyn moved back to West Virginia and then to Virginia to an apartment in the Ghent area of Norfolk in 1956. They bought their first house in Baylake Pines, Virginia Beach. Bill was hired on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel project as an engineer overseeing bridge pile driving and island and tunnel construction. During this time, their children, Tom and Patti arrived.

In 1963 the family moved to Richmond and he started his business, recently celebrating 60 years, William J. Davis Consulting Engineers. Bill became known for new construction projects such as the unique Best Products showrooms, Hampton University basketball arena and football stadium, Wilder Library at Virginia Union University and the Kirby Fieldhouse at Hampden-Sydney College. His specialties included historic restoration projects such as The Ironfronts in downtown Richmond, Aldie Mill near Middleburg, Washington-Franklin Hall at Randolph Macon College, Flowerdew Hundred, numerous projects in Colonial Williamsburg, many Fan District homes in Richmond and multiple projects in Petersburg including Lady Justice supported on the top of the historic courthouse. He was the "go-to" engineer for challenging projects.

His – and Marilyn's - true joy was travel: family summer trips to national parks, Alaska in 1973 and Europe in 1984. Eventually, Bill and Marilyn went to all 50 states, all of Canada including the Yukon and Northwest Territories; crossed the Atlantic Ocean 59 times by air and ship; visited 106 countries including Greenland, Tahiti, China, Russia, Norway, all the European countries, the Amazon, Argentina, Tierra Del Fuego and Peru; four safaris in Africa and numerous cruises as well as a trek to the North Pole on a Russian icebreaker. His final resting place will be Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

The funeral will be at Epiphany Lutheran Church on Friday, February 23, 2024. Visitation at 10 a.m. and service at 11 a.m. Burial will be private. The family thanks the wonderful staff at Our Lady of Hope. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Endowment Fund of Epiphany Lutheran Church, 1400 Horsepen Road, Richmond, Virginia 23226.