Roll Call Tribute

Navarre Funeral Home obituary
 2444 Rollingbrook Drive
Baytown, Texas 77521
(281) 422-8111

James A. "Bitsy" Davis
March 6, 1928 - October 16, 2013
Resided in Baytown, TX

On October 16, 2013, James Allen "Bitsy" Davis, precious husband, father, and grandfather, passed from this life into the next and now abides in the presence of his Lord and Savior. He was 85.

Bitsy—so nicknamed by his Aunt Clara when he was just hours old—was born on March 6, 1928, in Harrisburg (Harris County), Texas, to Lowery Hamlin and Jessie Pauline Majors Davis. He was the second of four boys; he is survived by his older brother Lowery of Baytown, TX, and is preceded in death by this younger brothers Dan and Delbert. With the exception of short stints in College Station and Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, Bitsy lived and worked his entire life in the Baytown area. His alma maters include Alamo Elementary and Cedar Bayou, where he was a true student athlete, lettering in every sport offered and graduating as the co-valedictorian.
Upon graduation, Bitsy enrolled in the school of architecture at Texas A&M University, and, like all students at the time, was a member of the Fighting Aggie Corps. Anecdotes of his days at A&M are now part of his family's oral history, stories that reflect a school where tradition is strong and the bonds of its students stronger. One such story holds that, after acting on an order from an upper classman to move a footlocker on the double—it didn't matter where, as long as it was right then—then Fish Davis opened the relocated trunk only to discover everything a new young architecture student could possibly need. While a student, he was a member of the Ross Volunteers, and after graduating, he proudly became a member of the 12th Man Club.

Upon graduation from Texas A&M in 1950, Bitsy served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. After serving two years as an artillery commander, he returned to College Station to teach design at A&M. It was during his second year there that he became enamored with a young student at Mary Hardin Baylor University in Belton, Texas. After a 10-month courtship, he married the love of his life Mary Lou Tschudy, at First Baptist Church of Richardson, Texas, with the service being officiated by her father, the Rev. B. C. Tschudy. Bitsy and Lou just celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary on October 2, 2013.

They soon settled in Baytown where Bitsy began his career in architecture, first working for Dan Perkins and eventually owning his own firm. His legacy includes such facilities as The Goose Creek Country Club, Ross S. Sterling High School as well as many other schools in Baytown, Sterling Municipal Library, the U. S. Post Office, Grace United Methodist Church, Baker Road Baptist Church, the activities building at Memorial Baptist Church, Houston Northwest Medical Center, Houston Intercontinental Airport's tram system, a unit for the Texas Prison System in Huntsville, Texas, and numerous residences in the Baytown area. As a young teen, Bitsy demonstrated his faith by walking to Cedar Bayou Methodist Church on Sunday mornings. After marrying, Bitsy transferred his membership to Memorial Baptist Church where he and Lou raised their three daughters, Cindy, Dawn, and Caroline. He was truly a faithful member to Memorial. He served on several committees, was a deacon, a Sunday school teacher, and an active witness, sharing his love for the Lord and encouraging people to become involved in Memorial Baptist.
Other organizations to which Bitsy belonged were the American Institute of Architects, the Kiwanis Club, and the Chamber of Commerce. And of course he served his community, doing volunteer work that ranged from helping families at Sheltering Arms to reading to children at Harlem Elementary.

Bisty was preceded in death by his parents, his mother- and father-in-law, B. C. and Mildred Tschudy, two brothers, his brother- and sister-in-law John Thomas and Margaret Elizabeth Tschudy McIlvain and their daughter Andrea Lou. He is survived by his loving wife Lou, their three daughters and their husbands: Cindy and Val Romans; Dawn and AJ Foy, and Caroline and Gilbert Rogers. Bitsy is also survived by his granddaughter, Mary Kathryn Romans Salameh and her husband Anton.

The family invites friends and loved ones to visit with them at 10:00 Saturday morning in the parlor at Memorial Baptist Church and then join them for memorial services in the sanctuary at 11:00 with Rev. Randy Piatt officiating.

To view the online obituary or to post a tribute for the family, go to www.navarrefuneralhome.com
 Arrangements are under the direction and personal care of Navarre Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 2444 Rollingbrook Dr., Baytown, TX, 77521 (281) 422-8111.