Dan Jay Davis
Dan Jay Davis, 89, passed away at his home in Sagle, Idaho, on Nov. 10, 2016.
Davis was one of 12 siblings born to Clarence H. and Martha Mary (Nolte) Davis. There were five boys and seven girls. Three of the girls were triplets. Davis was born on June 30, 1927, in Pocatello, Idaho, where he also attended school until the eighth grade when he had enough of school and headed into the work force.
On Oct. 11, 1949, Davis married Esther I. Capps and five children were born to this union, Doris Davis, Dan (Marie) Davis of Salmon, Idaho, Ron Davis, Ross Davis of Blackfoot, Idaho, and Connie (Paul) Brocker of Colfax, Calif.; and a step-daughter, April Jennings of Auburn, Calif. Davis has eight grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. He has 50 nieces and nephews and the list goes on. He and Esther later divorced and Davis married Arlene Maxwell and they also divorced.
He owned a wrecking yard in Salmon and sold it to his brother Lee Davis, he worked at the Anaconda Co. smelter in Anaconda, Mont . He also worked in Butte, Mont., mining, drove for Consolidated Freight-ways trucking in Salt Lake City, and Brimco manufacturing in Salt Lake. He moved to Sandpoint and on to Coeur d’Alene following the salvaged wood and the “cut stock” business. After leaving Coeur d’Alene he and his partner Bob helped renovate a hotel for the Expo in 1973-1974 in Spokane, Wash. He and Bob also renovated and sold many homes. He worked for a business called Alaska Recycle Junk, Hides and Furs in Spokane. He also worked in Alaska for a time and had a worm farm in Valley Ford, Wash. The rest of his days were spent doing salvage/scraping from his home in Sagle and in Salmon, Idaho. Work was something he liked and was not afraid of right to the end.
Some people are easy to like and dad was one of those; with a humor, stories and an incredible life style, that though frugal, was enhanced by the ability to make things work; create things out of wasted material that most would throw away, as he was talented artistically in many ways. He was always saving and scrapping everywhere, things many people today have never seen.
He was easy to laugh, yet sometimes quick to be very blunt. Davis loved cats as a favorite pet and had many over the years; he also loved all the animals that came on his property with the deer not being afraid of him.
Just in the last few years dad finally found Jesus as the true way of life and began a journey toward a walk with the God that he thought he knew, always giving God the credit for the life and care of all he did. He was baptized in the Seventh-day Adventist church a couple of years ago and really began to change his way of thinking about the ways of the world and could see why and how this world could be as it is today. His political views were strong and he did not hesitate to tell you so or how he thought this country was going.
He was preceded in death by brothers Stanley Davis and Melvin Davis; and sisters Ruby Hathaway, Doris Downs and Rhea Glassburn. He is survived by his children, siblings Lee Davis (Helen) of Salmon, Ned (Lucille) Davis of Sandpoint, Lucille Hermsen of Baker City, Ore., Jewel Foster of Redding, Calif., Julie Ward of Washington state, June Spinola of Trinity Center, Calif.; and his beloved cat, Shadow, who now has a new home in Sagle with a caring family.
Burial was in Mountain View Green Cemetery near Leadore, Idaho, on Nov. 11, 2016. Memorial services were held at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Salmon, Idaho, on Friday, Nov. 18, 2016, at 12 p.m. with Pastor Bob Stauffer conducting. There will also be a service in the Sagle/Sandpoint, Idaho, area at a time to be announced there.
In lieu of flowers you may donate to the local food bank or a charity of your choice.