John Davis

John Lavern Davis, age 77, of Hartville, Missouri, passed away Saturday, May 11, 2024, at The Cottages assisted living home in Shawnee, Kansas.

John is survived by his daughters, Melissa (John) Heeney and Amy (David) Coopman of Shawnee, Kansas; a son, Alex (Lisa) Davis of Blue Springs, Missouri, and six grandchildren:  Katie and Lucy Coopman, Megan and Jack Heeney, and Aria and Everett Davis.  John is also survived by his sisters, Marcia Fritz and Polly Taber, as well as his sisters-in-law and a number of nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Jacob Solomon (Jake) Davis and Verna Bolian Davis, his brothers, James Anthony Davis and Gary Lynn Davis, and his wife, Sandra Kay (Sandy) Shippy Davis.

Visitation will be Friday, May 24, 2024, from 6:00-8:00 PM at Hartville Free Will Baptist Church in Hartville.  Funeral services will be Saturday, May 25, 2024, at 1:00 PM at the Church.  Burial will be in Durbin Cemetery, Hartville, Missouri.  A reception at Sandy’s Eats + Sweets in Hartville will immediately follow.   Memorial contributions to the Durbin Cemetery and the Hartville Community Betterment Foundation may be made through the funeral home.

John was born May 26, 1946, at his family home in Hartville.  He was a bright, mischievous child, skipping the third grade at Cope School, a one-room schoolhouse.  John was introduced to his future wife, Sandy, at the ripe old age of 11 by his cousin and Sandy’s best friend, Paulette Davis Stewart.  After he graduated from Wyandotte High School, John and Sandy married on June 18, 1964, at St. George, Missouri.  Daughter, Melissa Ann, was born in 1966, daughter, Amy Laree, was born in 1970, and son, John Alexander (Alex), was born in 1977.  

John loved learning, receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rockhurst College.  He was a proud graduate of the Rockhurst Executive Fellows Program, where he met his “Team Three Brothers,” classmates that became lifelong friends.   Throughout John’s career, from his first job at Farmland Industries, throughout his tenure as an internal auditor for United Telecom and Sprint, and in other consulting work until retirement, John cultivated and maintained friendships that lasted for decades.  

John loved hosting visitors at his and Sandy’s home, and they invited family and friends on vacations through the years to Florida, Colorado and Arizona.  John and Sandy traveled extensively, visiting all 50 states, including Alaska for their 49th wedding anniversary and Hawaii for their 50th, as well as international travels to more than ten countries.  John’s generous spirit extended to his decades-long service as a blood donor, and he donated more than ten gallons of blood during his lifetime. John shared his love of nature with his children, grandchildren and extended family and friends, always identifying trees and birds during long walks in the country, in the mountains and at the beach.  Throughout his life, John had a knack for spotting four-leaf clovers, and he always described himself as a “Lucky Man.”