Clifton Hubert Davis Jr. passed from this life on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, in the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., from complications of Plasma Cell Leukemia.
Hugh (as he preferred to be called) was born on Dec. 18, 1946, in San Antonio, Texas.
He was preceded in death by his father, Clifton H. Davis Sr.; and his mother, Ruth Omah Holley Davis.
He was raised in Kerrville, Texas, on the campus of Schreiner Institute, which is now a university. His father was the school dietitian and his mother was a seamstress for the institute. He participated in high school football and was selected as an All-State defensive back. After graduation from high school, he joined the Navy and was trained as a corpsman. He was assigned to the Marines and deployed to Viet Nam. He served two tours of duty in the war arena where he was wounded twice. He received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star as well as other medals for his service to his country. After Hugh was discharged from the Navy, he trained as a lineman and worked for ARAMCO, Arabian-American Oil Company, in Saudi Arabia for 10 years. In 1988, Hugh joined the United States Department of Agriculture and completed four semesters from Mississippi State University and became a food technologist for the Food Safety and Inspection Service. He retired in 2004, from the USDA.
Hugh is survived by his wife, Dr. Brenda Underwood Davis, a veterinarian, residing in Cordova, Tenn.; his daughter, Noel Renee’ Cloutier and her husband, Stephen Hardy; grandchildren, Cole Hardy, Kyle Davis, and Kaylee Elizabeth residing in Coppell, Texas, and Lindsey Griesse and her husband, John Alan, in Fayetteville; his son, William Edward Davis; grandchildren, Alexis Noel, Trent Allen, and Clifton William; his son, Justin Cole Bright; granddaughter, Hannah Elizabeth; his daughter, Emily Jo Stefanko and her husband, Brian Eugene of the U.S. Army; grandchildren, Gabriel Eugene, Gage Earnest and Carollynn Rose, stationed in Stuttgart, Germany; son, Travis Wayne Bright and his wife, Jaime Leigh; grandson, Tyler Wade, residing in Cordova, Tenn; son, Steve Woodard, U.S. Navy Veteran and his wife, Carolyn Joyce; grandchildren, Austin Ridge, U.S. Marine Corps stationed in San Diego, Hunter Logan, U.S. Marine Corps stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and Madelynn Paige residing in Bartlett, Tenn.; one sister, Deborah Ruth McGaugh and her husband, Donald Ray, of El Dorado; two brothers-in-law, Calvin Underwood and his wife, Selena, of Stillwater, Okla., and Howard Jerome Underwood and his wife, Debbie, of Hope; and a sister-in-law, Dr. Paula Kay Jamison, DVM, residing in Broken Bow, Okla. He is also survived by an uncle, William Holley; two aunts, Nelda, residing in El Dorado, and Sallie Ovader Holley residing in Texarkana, Texas; as well as several nieces and nephews.
The funeral arrangements for Hugh will be conducted by Collierville Funeral Home in Collierville, Tenn. Visitation will be from 4 until 6 p.m. Sunday, March 29.
The funeral will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, March 30, at the funeral home chapel. Interment will immediately follow and will be at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, located at 4000 Forest Hill Irene Road, Memphis, TN.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in memory of Hugh to the Disabled American Veterans Charity (www.dav.org memorial of Hugh Davis).