Ann Lee (Roberts) Davis passed away September 7, 2023.
Ann was born on October 2, 1936 to Carl and Faye Roberts, Oklahoma City. She was a 1955 graduate of Capitol Hill high school. On July 4, 1955 she eloped to Gainesville, Texas with Arnold Davis.
On December 19, 1956, Ann gave birth to her first child Dana Lynn Davis. The birth would, in many ways, chart the course of the couple’s lives and almost 52 years of marriage for many decades. Dana was born with Down’s Syndrome and required special care and attention to help her develop. Ann and Arnold broke with societal norms and chose to raise their daughter at home. Ann had so much love to give and Dana would be her singular focus, at least for a little while. Despite a life expectancy of just 12 years, Dana would exceed all expectations, more than once, and was a joy-giver to everyone she met for 34 years.
Her first of many, many projects – Ann sought to build a school for the mentally retarded (now referred to as people with an Intellectual Disability), as these children had no place to gather to obtain an education or socialize with other children, especially those with severe mental handicaps. The land for the school, the labor to construct the facility, and many of the building materials were donated. Ann chose to name the school after local hero and American astronaut Gordon Cooper’s space capsule, Faith 7, because the school was built on faith and when it opened in 1964, there were seven students.
Ann’s legacy includes the creation of Dana’s Garden and the Celebration of Life Park to honor and memorialize all who made a difference in someone’s life.
She would eventually manage Gloria’s Boutique and created a place for herself at Ann & You, Inc., a business she and Arnold owned and operated for 13 years. She also worked for Central Oklahoma Community Action Agency, Savvy Bites, many years at Ell’s Jewelry, and Rising Star Gymnastics.
She was heavily involved in the local activities to celebrate America’s Bi-Centennial in 1976. Ann was in the Junior Service League, the PTA, the Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce, and a huge supporter of Shawnee Wolves football.
She was an ambassador and home host for the Shawnee Sister Cities organization. She led two different delegations to Nikaho herself as chairperson. She also hosted young people in her home who were traveling America as part of the Up With People organization in the 1970s.
An early participant in the Shawnee Little Theatre, Ann would serve as fundraising chairperson to garner the money necessary to build the community theatre’s current home.
In 1994, Ann had the honor of being selected to carry the Olympic Flame as the torch passed through Oklahoma on its way to Atlanta, GA and the Summer Olympic Games. Dubbed the “Snowflake Lady,” Ann proposed and spearheaded the project following a National League of Cities gathering she had attended with Arnold. She worked with the Tennessee manufacturer of the snowflakes and made a deal with the city that it would buy one snowflake for every two she sold. She also enlisted the help of OG&E to wire the light poles from which the snowflakes were mounted. For a couple of decades, more than four hundred snowfl akes welcomed both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday along with visitors to the City of Shawnee.
Perhaps her proudest achievement happened in 1986. The pending birth of her first grandchild spurred her to take action about something she’d kept hidden for a long time. Very few people knew that Ann was illiterate. She wanted to be able to read to her grandchildren so she took classes through a literacy program. Her success and determination caused her to go public with her story, when asked. At that time, 25 percent of adults in Pottawatomie County were illiterate. The program hoped Ann’s story would encourage more adults to learn to read. The publicity surprised many people who had known her a long time. How could someone be successful in business and act in community theatre without the ability to read. Ann would smile and say “I had a memory like an elephant.”
Ann is preceded in death and reunited with her husband Arnold “Precious”, daughter Dana Lynn, younger brother Greg, and parents Carl and Faye.
She is survived by the sister she adored, Carolyn, and her children, Trey and his wife Danalynn Marie Davis and grandchildren Nicole Danica and husband Michael Funk and great-grandson Taylor of Oklahoma City, Logan Taylor and wife Alyssa Davis and great-granddaughter Emerson Ann (“Em”) of Shawnee, granddaughters Nicolette, Natalie and Nylena Davis of Shawnee, granddaughter Kristen Bradley and greatgranddaughter Eloise (“Ellie”) of Edmond and daughter-in-love Sharon Davis of Oklahoma City; her son Ron and his wife Sherry Davis of Choctaw, grandchildren Austin Taylor and wife Maddie Davis of Guthrie, and Bailey Cheyenne and husband Wade Oller of Owasso, along with numerous nieces, nephews, extended family members and many, many friends.
A Celebration of Life memorial service is scheduled for 10 AM, Saturday, September 16, 2023, at St.John Lutheran Church, 3610 N. Union in Shawnee. The family respectfully requests that, in lieu of flowers, a tax-deductible tribute donation be made in Ann’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association, act.alz.org.
