Roy Lee Davis

COLUMBIA—Funeral services for Roy Lee Davis, 73, of Columbia, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, November 23, 2015 at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 1430 N. Lake Drive, Lexington, SC 29072. The interment will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Ft. Jackson National Cemetery with military honors.The family will greet friends from 4-6 p.m. Sunday, November 22, 2015 at Temples Halloran Funeral Home, 5400 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29212.Mr. Davis passed away on Tuesday, November 17, 2015.Born in Camden, he was the son of the late Benjamin Franklin Davis, Sr. and the late Bessie Vermelle Holland Davis. Roy was diligent and dedicated to his family, his career, his extracurricular activities, and was a stranger to the word NO.He graduated from Greenbrier High School in Winnsboro, SC where he was a part of the basketball and football teams.He always joked that the only reason that he was on those teams was because the school was so small that they needed him in order to complete the team!After high school he entered the ranks of the United States Navy.He was stationed on the USS Yorktown, USS Hornet, and served time in Norfolk, VA, San Diego, CA, Hawaii, and Japan as a Yeoman on the Admirals staff. After serving 4 years in the Navy, Roy was honorably discharged and entered the Navy Reserves for 3 years, while simultaneously beginning what would be a 46 year career in the Food Service Industry.He began his career at PYA Monarch in the late sixties, continued to Biggers Brothers in the mid-nineties, and completed his career with US Food Service in 2013. Roy had many extracurricular activities, to which he also gave his all.He was a constant presence in his son’s lives serving as a Boy Scout leader and paternal mentor to all their activities.He was a long time member of the church council at Redeemer Lutheran Church, was on the board of the Whitehall Homeowners Association, served as president and vice president of Palmetto Chapter 284 of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), and was the secretary of the Mercedes Benz Club of America’s Carolinas Section.Roy was also a member of Earlewood Masonic Lodge #371 and Jamil Temple.He greatly enjoyed antique cars, hunting, and playing golf.He enjoyed spending time with his three grandsons and never missed a single event they were part of if he didn’t have to.His great passion, other than his wife Diane and the rest of his family, was lawn manicuring and gardening; garnering a faithful following of landscape business clients over numbers of years, as well as several Whitehall neighborhood “Yard of the Month” Awards. Survivors include his loving wife of 45 years, Diane Wilson Davis of Columbia; sons, Brian Christopher Davis (Heather) of Irmo and Bradlee Wilson Davis of Raleigh, NC; grandchildren, Chase Watson Davis, Mattox Christopher Davis and Brady Pierce Davis; sisters, Sally Juanita Moody and Linda Roberta McGehee (Bobby); brothers, John Robert Davis (Ethel), James Wylie Davis (Gloria) and Raymond Martin Davis (Pat); and his beloved family dog, Ms. Lily Taco. He was preceded in death by brother Benjamin Franklin Davis, Jr. and sister Judith Davis. Memorials can be made in Mr. Davis’ memory to the No Stomach For Cancer organization in lieu of flowers if so desired.https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/NoStomachForCancer