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Show f f f J i - 4 - f-t ii . ' if 1:1: M . -v r Charles Davis Centenarian Charles Davis dies Charles Decker Davis, born during the Presidential term of Chester Arthur, died Dec. 5 in Cottonwood Hospital in Salt Lake after a brief illness. Davis, a resident of Wanship, celebrated his 100th birthday last May 3. He was the last great-grandson of Brigham Young's first family. His public service included two terms in the 1950s as Summit County assessor. Davis was born in Salt Lake City to George Benton and Miriam Decker Davis. He married Orletta Hatch on June 27, 1906, in Vernal. The marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Record reporter Nan Chalat talked to the couple on Davis' birthday last spring. When asked what were the best years of his life, Davis winked and said, "The last 77." Their daughter Gwen identified them at that time as the oldest living couple in the western U.S. Davis had roots in the Park City area. His mother is buried in the Glenwood Cemetery. His family lived in Snyderville from 1908 to 1921. Talking to Chalat, Davis recalled that monthly shopping trips to Park City were an exciting event. During one return trip home, he said, they became lost in a heavy blizzard. He was forced to drop the reins, and the horses found their own way back to the Davis home. His wife said, "We've been rich and poor and rich again. Charley has always kept his sense of humor and never let things get him depressed." When Chalat asked him to pass on a word of advice to the younger generation, Davis said, "Oh, they wouldn't follow it anyway." Of past generations, he said, "People used to be more humble." v Davis was a rancher in both Vernal and Summit County. He served as district Democratic Party chairman and was county supervisor for a Green Thumb beautification program directed at parks and recreation areas. He was a High Priest in the LDS Church. He is survived by his wife, and by eight children: Marie (Mrs. Robert) Pace of Salt Lake; Alice (Mrs. Monte) Bennett Ben-nett of Pomona, California; Kate (Mrs. Jack) Gutke of Salt Lake City; Geneviere (Mrs. Charles) Sargent of Salt Lake; Gwen (Mrs. Willard) Larsen of Wanship; Jess (Bud) Davis of Las Vegas ; Dr. William H. Davis of Plainview, Texas ; and Guy E. Davis of Fountain Valley, California. He was preceded in death by daughter Luceen and son Ray D. Davis. The Davis clan, amounting to five generations, also includes in-cludes 42 grandchildren, 147 great-grandchildren, and 25 great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Friday, Dec. 9, at the Wanship Wan-ship Ward at noon. Friends may call at the Walker Mortuary in Coalville on Thursday night, 6-8 p.m. and one hour before services at the Wanship Ward Chapel. Interment will be at the Wanship Cemetery . |
