Mr. Thomas Harrison Davis' Obituary
Wallace - Mr. Thomas Davis, 103, returned home to be with his heavenly father on Sunday, June 12, 2022 at the Brian Center, Wallace, NC. The celebration of his life will be held on Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 11:30am with a visitation from 10:00am to 11:30am at Bethel A.M.E. Church, 110 Grove Street, Bridgeport, CT. He will be laid to rest at the Mountain Grove Easton Cemetery, Harvester Road, Easton, CT.
He was born in Vance, SC December 7, 1918 to Steven Davis and Lillie Pearl Davis. He will be loved and missed by his son James Davis (Kimberly), grandchildren Dawn Harrington and Angela Davis, great grandchildren LeVonn (Rebecca) and Lawrence Harrington (Brenda), great great grandchildren Jaden Harrington, Genesis Harrington, Jeremiah Harrington, Maya Harrington as well as numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. Thomas was preceded in death by his wife Catherine and his son Thomas (Rebecca).
He married his wife Catherine in May of 1943 and they managed 71 years of marriage together before her passing in August of 2014. That union produced two loving sons, Thomas Leroy Davis and James Sylvester Davis.
A single event in Thomas’s young life changed the trajectory of his entire future. One day while collecting church dues for his Father, the mule he was riding stumbled and fell. Thomas’s leg was badly broken. Unable to work on the farm his parents sent him to Sumter where he lived with 2 of his sisters. This gave him the opportunity to work and complete high school. This was an opportunity that was not available to his 8 older siblings. He worked and provided support for other family members and eventually attended and graduated from Morris College in Sumter, SC in 1943 with a Batchelor of Arts Degree.
Thomas was drafted in 1943 and assigned to the Navy. During his assignment at Great Lakes, his leg was reinjured, and he was released from the Navy with an Honorable Discharge.
With a family to support Thomas was unable to find meaningful work in the South. In 1945 he relocated to Bridgeport, CT in pursuit of employment opportunities. He was employed at Jenkins Valves in Bridgeport as a laborer, a tool setter and a department supervisor. He remained employed at Jenkins Valves for over 30 years until his retirement in 1977.
Thomas was a member of Bethel AME Church at the time of his passing and a prior member of Walters Memorial AME Church. He also served as a member and Past Master of the Bridgeport Chapter of Prince Hall Masons.
Services of caring, compassionate and distinguished class entrusted to J.B. Rhodes Funeral Home & Cremations of Warsaw.
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