Fred Davis Obituary (1930 - 2022)

Fred Lamar Davis: Born at home on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1930 and passed away at home on July 10, 2022 at the age of 91! Dad was always a fighter, from fist fights and boxing when he was young to Union steward in his mining career and for the safety rights of all miners while and inspector and trainer with MSHA. He continued to fight until the end; he was truly a stubborn man. Dad was a lucky man too, he had two families. When he was young, he had a family with his first wife Pinky Angelina Davis, Cristine (Lyle) Rasmussen and Kathy Harrison preceded in death by son Steven Davis. A few years after his divorce he married Ressa Beyler and found the woman he loved more than life itself. Though he was not the biological father to Ressa’s children they considered him to be “Dad”. Roberta (Craig) Wardle, Nae (Tim) Haxby, and Jim (Esther) Davis. Preceded in death by Sanny (Mike) Jones and Rhonda (Randy) Haxby. Dad served in the Marines during the Korean War and gained a purple heart for his service. After his service he went to the University of Utah, on a scholarship from the paint store where he worked, and earned a bachelor’s degree in Geology and Mining. He worked in many hard rock mines from Utah to Montana. When the Labor Department started a safety program named MSHA (Mining Safety and Health Administration) dad was in the first wave of new inspectors. Due to this new job dad loaded up the truck and moved to Alabama. After three years in Alabama, he moved back to Utah. This was not his final move for his job, he moved a few years later to Nevada and retired from MSHA in 1997. Mom and Dad stayed in Nevada for a few years after retirement and then wanted to be closer to family and moved back to Utah, finally settling in Tooele. Through his job dad was able to travel from Alaska to Hawaii, from California to West Virginia and many places in-between. Together they took grandkids on adventures from the California coast to “the big faces” Mount Rushmore; camping all the way. Sleep overs and parties were always fun with Grampy and Grammy! We will all miss Dad’s extraordinary talent playing the harmonica; he could play any song he ever heard, what a gift that was. We will miss the Pinochle games, Aggravation, and spinning tops. We will also miss his tall tales and off color ditties that he learned while in the Marines and taught to his grandkids! We will miss you dad! Enjoy dancing the jitter-bug with mom in heaven! The family would like to thank Jamie Davis, his grand-daughter, who devoted herself to first Mom (Ressa’s) care and then to Dad’s care for the last ten years. We appreciate that your care helped them both to live out their lives at home. There will be a graveside service Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 10:00 am at Murray City Cemetery located at 5600 South Vine Street, Murray, Utah east corner of the cemetery.