William Davis

William Everett (Bill) Davis, 79, passed away Thursday morning, March 11, 2010 at Miss. Baptist Medical Center. Visitation will be 5-8pm Sunday and 9-10am Monday prior to the 10am service at Chancellor Funeral Home in Byram. Burial will be at Lakewood South Memorial Park. \ Bill was born December 20, 1930 in Hickory, MS to Annie Myrtle Everett Davis and Ralph Davis and was the eldest of five children. He grew up in Newton County and enjoyed hunting and fishing with his younger brother Bruce, which they continued to do together for many years until Bruce's death in 1980. Bill attended Hickory High School graduating in 1949. He attended East Central Junior College, then served in the U.S. Army stationed at Ft. McClellan near Anniston, AL. There, he met and married Jimmie Lee Pierce on his birthday in 1954. After he was discharged from the Army, the newlyweds moved to Starkville, MS where he attended Mississippi State University and graduated with a Bachelors in Vocational Education in 1956. He continued his formal education while teaching and coaching at Shannon High School (1956-60) and Glen Allan High School (1960-1964) and earned a Masters in Vocational Education and a Masters in Science by 1964, both from Miss. State. He relocated to Byram in 1964 where he taught biology and chemistry, coached basketball, football and track, and was the assistant principal at Byram High School until 1970. "Coach Davis", as he was known, was very active in all school and community functions, including the Byram Lions Club. He was an official with the Miss. High School Athletic Association and officiated many high school football and basketball games for several years. In 1970 he began teaching with the Jackson Public School System. He taught Chemistry and Biology at Lanier High School and retired in 1992 after 36 years of educating young Mississippians. He taught hundreds of students and changed the lives of many over the course of his teaching and coaching career. Bill almost always knew someone anywhere that he went. He was very friendly and always asking a new acquaintance, "Where did you go to high school?". He enjoyed watching football and basketball, especially when Mississippi State was playing. Bill is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Cecil Bruce Davis.\ Bill is survived by his wife of 55 years, Jimmie Davis; three\ children, Steve Davis of Jackson, Deborah (Dee Dee) Holmes and her\ husband David Holmes, Jr. of Byram, and Bill Davis of Vicksburg; four\ grandchildren, David Holmes, III, Emily Jade Holmes, Whit Holmes, and\ Cameron Davis; four great-grandchildren; three siblings, Rose\ Harrison, Ruth Martin and Carolyn Barnes.