Ethel Jost Davis

DAVIS Ethel Jost Davis Mrs. Ethel Davis died at Fleet Landing, Atlantic Beach Florida on September 7, 2009. She was born in Washington, D.C. February 16, 1915 to Frank and Evva Jost. She graduated with honors from Wilson Teachers College and began teaching in 1935 at the age of 19, the youngest ever in the D.C. school system. After marrying P. Baxter Davis, a WWII naval officer and D.C. attorney, she obtained a masters degree at Northwestern University by making special arrangements to satisfy the then applicable in residence requirements through summer school attendance. The first summer, although pregnant, she drove by herself to Evanston from DC. She graduated the next summer, 1942, with her family in DC providing “child care”. In 1954, the family moved from Silver Spring to 5115 Marlyn Drive in the Sumner community off Massachusetts Avenue where she devoted much of her life to rearing her two sons, both graduating from Montgomery County public schools and becoming lawyers. She was also active at St. Andrews Methodist Church in the Glen Echo area and served for many years as its treasurer. In the summer of 1956, she agreed to answer the phone for the DC chapter of the American Institute of Banking for two weeks while the only staff person was on vacation. After the staff person decided not to return, Mrs. Davis agreed to stay on until a replacement could be found. When she retired 20 years later, in 1976, she had converted the DC Chapter of AIB to a nationally recognized and modeled after bank management education institution with hundreds of faculty, thousands of students, classrooms throughout the metropolitan area and cooperative degree credit programs with surrounding institutions including U of M, GW, CU and AU. Mrs. Davis single handedly began what in reality was the first college level curriculum for bankers. She was a member of PEO, AAUW, Sigma Phi Gamma, The Twenty Club, Kappa Delta Pi and Columbia Country Club. Upon retirement in 1976 she and her husband relocated to St. Petersburg Florida and in 1991 moved to Fleet Landing in Atlantic Beach Florida, where she returned to the classroom as a volunteer until the age of 90. She was also a joyous taxi cab service for Fleet Landing residents driving friends to appointments, stores, getting prescriptions while draining them of every life fact she could. She was loved by everyone at Fleet Landing from the flag officers down to the housekeeping staff and everyone in between. To the end, people were her life. She would quiz whoever she met about their lives and family. She often helped the young staff members at Fleet Landing with encouragement, attendance at their graduations and other special events and provided a little helping hand financially from time to time without being asked. Her wit, gentle nature, quick mind and generous spirit made for a very special lady, breaking barriers through hard work, Christian faith, and steely sweetness. She was on earth, and now officially is, an angel. The family would like to extend a special thanks to the loving staff at the Skilled Nursing Wing of the Fleet Landing Health Center. A special thank you is also extended by the family to her Fleet Landing heart throb, Gris Moeller, and Ethel's close friends the Ballow's, Davis' and McGees who housed, fed, cared for and comforted the family for many years and particularly recently. Mrs. Davis is survived by sons and daughters in law Baxter and Susan Farmer Davis, of Alpharetta, Georgia and Craig and Mary Tuller Davis of Lake Wateree, South Carolina. Surviving grandchildren and spouses are Craig and Mary's children Hayden and Pam Crabb Davis and Jesse and Kendall Davis Johnson all of Columbia, South Carolina and Baxter and Sue's children Kelly Force and Cary Baxter Davis of Charlotte, North Carolina, Anna and Keller Raymond Davis of Salt Lake City, Utah and Lindsay Davis of Alpharetta, Georgia. Great grandchildren are Anna and Keller's daughter Ellen and Lindsay's son Tristan. She is also survived by her niece and her husband Mac and Marlene Brinley Lambeth of Raleigh North Carolina. Mrs. Davis was predeceased by her husband P. Baxter in 2000, her parents, and her sister and brother in law Helen and Wade Brinley. Memorials may be made to the Fleet Landing Foundation, Fleet Landing Blvd., Atlantic Beach, FL, 32233 or PEO International, 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50312 A memorial service will be conducted at Fleet Landing at a later date with final inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery. Please Sign the Guestbook @ Jacksonville.com