George Thomas Davis

It is with deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the peaceful passing of George Thomas Davis of Newbury, Massachusetts, on September 10, 2024 at Harmony Homes By the Bay in Durham, New Hampshire at the age of 94, with his daughter, Shari, by his side. He was a proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

He was born in Newburyport on May 13, 1930 to Barbara Frascone of Newburyport, Massachusetts. He and his wife, Della, lived in their home in Newbury, Massachusetts for over 50 years.

He was predeceased by the love of his life, his “Sweet Pea” of 62 years, Della Mae Davis; his parents, Everett Davis & Barbara Frascone; and his siblings, Barbara Janvrin, Frances B. MacDonald, Natalie F. Cavanaugh and Josephine A. “Snookie” Poulin. He is survived by their three children: Shari Closter (Burch Harvey) of Owls Head, Maine & their two pups, Zoey and Lucia; Barry Davis (Nancy Meehan) of Newbury, Massachusetts and their pup, Cassie; Brian Davis (Susan Duval) of Hudson, New Hampshire & their daughter, Kayla Duval of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is also survived by his brother Everett “Chip” R. Davis, Jr. He leaves behind many great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

From an earlier marriage to Nancy Johnson, he is survived by two children, a son, Steven George Davis (Isabel) of Boynton Beach, Florida; and Steven’s four children (from a former marriage to Deborah Meyer Davis), Beverly of Chatsworth, Georgia; Robert of Smyrna, Georgia; Jon of Spanish Fort, Alabama; and Jenn of Winthrop, Maine; and a daughter, Cathy J. Davis of Fort Walton Beach, Florida and her daughter Michele.  

He proudly served 21 years in the Air Force and retired as a Senior Master Sergeant - US Air Force in February 1970. From 1949 – 1970, he was in military schools, various bases in the U.S., and spent a total of four years in the field of radio, radar, electronics, missile systems and aircraft systems.

From 1950– 1953, he worked as a Technical Supervisor in an airborne radio/radar repair aircraft section in Germany.  Prior to that, he spent two years attending Basic Radio & Electronics School at Scott AFB, Illinois.

He served with F86D Fighter Squadron at Westover AFB in Massachusetts from 1957 to 1959. He supervised radio and radar field maintenance sections at Otis AFB, Massachusetts and was assigned to fighter squadrons at Westover AFB and North Africa during the years of 1953 to 1957. During the years from 1959-1961, he served as Quality Control Inspector of electronic equipment on all Air Force planes at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and was stationed at Offutt AFB with the Combat Missile Squadron.

He performed as Senior Missile Analyst on the Atlas D Missile crew from 1961 to 1966, and was responsible for evaluation and standardization of 15 missile crews in Omaha, Nebraska at Offutt Air Force Base. He was also a member of the 385th Strategic Aerospace Wing, performing duties as a member of Combat Missile Crew S-05.

From 1964-1966, he served as Job Control Supervisor at Grand Forks AFB North Dakota, in charge of maintenance and repair of 150 missile systems in an area of 1700 square miles. He was stationed at Chanute AFB, Illinois, from 1966 to 1970, teaching missile and electronic systems to basic students and Bachelor of Science Degree students of electronics and mechanical engineering backgrounds.

He was awarded many Certificates of Achievements for contributions to the combat effectiveness of the Strategic Air Command as well as Certificates of Training in Small Arms Marksmanship, Missile System Maintenance, Operational Readiness, Ballistic Missile Analyst, Military Justice and Technical Instruction.

After retirement in 1970, he earned an Associate Degree in Applied Science- Horse Management Major, from the Essex Agricultural and Technical Institute, graduating in 1979. He was self-employed as a Registered Radio & TV Technician and was an Electronics Instructor at the Patten Vocational High School in Beverly, Massachusetts. In the 1980-90’s one of his passions was owning and training race horses, with a horse care boarding facility at his home in Newbury, Massachusetts. 

George and his wife, Della, had a passion for visiting new places, and they traveled extensively throughout the country, visiting friends and family, historic sites, world renowned museums, flower shows, art exhibitions, and antique car/classic car shows. He enjoyed helping Della with baking and canning vegetables and loved spending holidays with his children and granddaughter, Kayla. His hobbies included gardening, hunting, watching baseball/basketball and feeding the many beautiful birds on their property. Our Dad loved ice cream, whoopie pies and anything chocolate. He was a very kind, caring, loving and generous person to everyone he met.

He and Della volunteered for many years at the Tilton Elementary School in Haverhill, Massachusetts, donating thoughtful gifts to the grade one-five students, including books, crayons, pencils, colored paper, stained glass coloring, sand bears and crafts. These gifts enriched the children’s lives and the children handwrote hundreds of beautiful thank you letters to our parents.

He worked for many years with one of his dearest friends, Neil Barry, in a TV repair shop that Neil owned; and Neil visited him often after George was moved into a memory care facility after the death of his wife, Della in December of 2022.

Our family is grateful for the kindness and compassionate care provided by staff & nurses at two memory care centers that our Dad was a resident of -- Benchmark at Rye in Rye, New Hampshire; and Harmony Homes By the Bay in Durham, New Hampshire. While at Harmony Homes By the Bay, Unity Hospice staff and nurses provided our family with exceptional end-of-life care and emotional support, filled with compassion, dignity, healing and peace. We were also comforted by the support and care of our Dad by hospital nurses and doctors while he was at the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire.

Dad was known for his quick wit, humor & twinkle in his eyes; and the nurse’s called dad’s room, “George’s Palace”.  As he was pretty much a night owl, the staff could always lovingly bribe our Dad with chocolates or whoopie pies to get him up and going in the morning.

The Twomey, LeBlanc & Conte Funeral Home, 193 High St., Newburyport, is assisting the family with his arrangements.  A committal service will be held with Military Funeral Honors at the interment of George T.  Davis and Della M. Davis on Friday, October 25, 2024 at 1:00pm. This service will take place at the Central Maine Veterans’ Cemetery, 143 Blue Star Avenue, Augusta, ME. The service is open to the public.

In lieu of flowers, please donate in our Dad’s memory to the Tilton Elementary School of Haverhill Massachusetts, or the Alzheimer’s Association.

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