Rebecca Davis

Rebecca Elaine Gladden Davis, 95, wife of the late Forrest M. Davis, Jr., and resident of Onancock, Va., died peacefully April 22, 2018, at the Hermitage on the Eastern Shore.

Born January 17, 1923, she was the daughter of the late John Randolph Gladden and Sarah Elizabeth Downing Gladden.

Educated in Accomack County, she was a graduate of Central High School, and Beacom College in Wilmington, Del.

Following graduation, she worked with the United States Employee Service on the Eastern Shore and in Newport News, Va.  Later she established the agency’s office in Hampton, Va.

On March 25, 1944, she married her high school sweetheart, Forrest Davis.  Together, they shared 65 years of happiness, and a family now embracing four generations.

Following World War II, Mr. and Mrs. Davis returned to the Eastern Shore and established Davis Oil Company in Onancock in 1956.

A devoted member of Market Street United Methodist Church, Mrs. Davis served as a Sunday school teacher, an Altar Guild communion steward, and a church trustee.

She was a charter member of the Eastern Shore Yacht and Country Club and the Debedeavon Garden Club.  She also served on the board of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society.

Mrs. Davis is survived by her daughter, Trudy Davis Thompson, and her husband, Willard R. Thompson, Jr., of Salisbury, N.C.; her son, F. Mallory Davis III, and his wife, Lee Davis, of Baltimore Md.; three granddaughters, Catherine Thompson Monroe, and her husband, Fred, of Charlotte, N.C., Elizabeth Thompson Myers, and her husband, Michael, of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Virginia Davis Horton, and her husband, Matthew, of Orlando, Fla.; and five great-grandchildren.

She is also survived by her sister-in-law - Nancy Windsor Davis; her special cousin – Bobby C. Gladden; her nieces – Natalie White Doub and Annette Gladden Keith; and her nephews – Rev. Dr. Richard K. Gladden and John W. Gladden.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was predeceased by three sisters – Lois Gertrude Gladden, Audrey Gladden White and Ruth Gladden Spence; two brothers – Richard C. E. Gladden and John W. Gladden, Jr.; two nephews – Vernon Gladden Spence and Gregory Gladden; and her special cousin – William T. Gladden, Jr.

Her family offers sincere gratitude to Dr. Lloyd J. Kellam III for his years of devoted attention, the Hermitage nursing staff members for their care, and Chip Chandler for his unselfish friendship.

A graveside funeral service will be held at the Davis Family Cemetery, Glebe Farm, in Davis Wharf, Va., on Thursday, April 26, 2018, at 11:00 a.m., with The Reverend Scott E. Davis, The Reverend J. Barton Weakley, and The Reverend Doctor Richard K. Gladden officiating.  The family will receive friends at the home, 12 Kerr Street, after 12:30 p.m. following the service, including anyone unable to attend the funeral.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Market Street United Methodist Church, 75 Market St., Onancock, Va.  23417, or to the Hermitage on the Eastern Shore Employee Fund, 23610 North St., Onancock, Va.  23417.

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.

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