Roll Call Tribute

Phil Davis
February 02, 1924 - April 24, 2021

Phil Davis was born in Mount Vernon Texas to Roger and Annie Barrett Davis on February 2,1924. His parents, his older siblings, sister Evelyn Davis Bates, and brother Sam Davis and young Phil moved around east Texas as their father served as agricultural agent in a number of counties until they returned to Mt. Vernon when Phil was 7.

His parents said he was smart and a good boy. He read voraciously, did well in school and loved his family and friends. Phil went to school in Mount Vernon until the last semester of his senior year. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas and went to Texas A&M when he was 16 years old. He thought he’d follow in his father’s footsteps but became unsure of his choice and while meeting with an advisor decided to go pre-med.

He was inducted into the Army in 1942 but his service was deferred until he completed medical school. He went to Baylor Medical school in Houston Texas and met his match and the love of his life, Joyce Stripling. They were truly partners in all things and their love and respect was remarkable. They first competed in classes and later in Scrabble and Hand & Foot. They were married in 1946, and by 1952 had Roger, Diane, and Mark, all under the age of 4. He was then called back into the Army to go to Korea. Phil wrote and sent pictures to Joyce and the kids every day he was gone. Sixteen months later he was back home and living in Houston with his family. Scott was born in 1954 and they raised their kids, enjoyed their extended families and friends while teaching at Baylor Medical School, serving at Willow Meadows Baptist Church, and sharing adventures in Colorado.

Phil was definitely an east Texas boy. His slow talking drawl, easy laugh, and real interest in people drew him to others and they to him. In 1974 the empty nesters moved to College Station where they both worked at the new A&M medical school and Phil practiced family medicine. They were active members of First Baptist College Station and continued communicating with friends after they left. Free time was spent at North Zulch tending the cows and the garden and enjoying farm fellowship with family and friends. They travelled with friends and family members always learning through Elderhostel, reading and service trips. Shortly after retirement, they sold the cows and the farm and continued traveling both at home and abroad always spending at least 3 months in Colorado with old and new family and friends.

In 2012 they moved to independent living at Greenridge at Buckner Villas in Austin to be closer to family. They loved the community there and participated in many activities. After Joyce died in 2014, Phil continued to live independently and drove to First Baptist Austin, to visit friends, to doctor appointments, and to H-E-B until the pandemic put a halt to his adventures. He was 96 when he decided he should stop driving, so he gave up his car and continued to spend time visiting with Buckner friends in assisted living and full nursing care until he moved in with his daughter in November 2020.

Phil passed at home on April 24, 2021 after a brief illness. He was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife Joyce, his siblings and their spouses, and sons Roger and Scott '83.

He will be missed by many including his daughter Diane and her partner Jan, his son Mark and his wife Barby, his daughters in law Lynne and Denise, 7 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, his brother in law Bruce Oliver, and a multitude of nieces, nephews, and friends around the world.

Graveside services will be held at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco at noon on May 5, 2021.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Hospice Austin who cared for Phil in his final months, The Buckner Foundation, or a charity of your choice. “...what does the Lord require of you: to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8


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