Dudley Russell Davis. Jr

Dudley Russell Davis, Jr., artist, educator, farmer and lifelong learner, died peacefully at his home in the Reid Community near Vardaman, MS, on Saturday, December 5, 2020, following a yearlong battle with cancer.

Dudley was born in Bruce, MS, on October 29, 1938, to Dudley Russell (Dud) Davis and Rena Ola Hannaford Davis. He was a 1956 graduate of Bruce High School and then attended Itawamba Community College. Dudley completed his Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Drama from the University of Mississippi in 1961. After receiving his degree from Ole Miss, he then embarked on his career as an educator, teaching in the Georgia Public School System at Piney Grove Junior High near Jesup, GA, a sojourn that he often reflected nostalgically upon as a most enjoyable time in his life. "I fell in love with the people there. They gave me so much freedom." Continuing his career as an educator, he later taught in Brunswick, GA, where he lived in a house with an ocean view. He had many great memories from this time of his life, and his friends in Mississippi are fortunate that he ultimately decided to return home to the family farm.

After St. Simons Island, Dudley returned to Mississippi to attend graduate school at Ole Miss, where he completed his Master's Degree in Speech and Drama, after which he taught at Northwest Community College. While at Northwest, Dudley attended Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) to pursue a specialist's degree.

The love of art shaped Dudley's personality and his approach to life. He found beauty in ideas, images and objects, and he had a gift for communicating his feelings and philosophy through his art. He also had a deep love for the many friends he cultivated through his years of artistic expression as a speech and theater instructor and through visual art. His love of art was almost matched by his love of people and travel. The list of friends is extensive, and so is the list of places he visited over the years, including New Mexico, Alaska, and Horn Island, off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Some of the pieces that Dudley produced as a result of his visits to Horn Island ended up in the gallery of Memphis College of Art.

Dudley's work was also later displayed at the Faulkner Museum in Union County and also at the Corinth Historical Museum.

As the health of his parents began to fail, Dudley returned to Calhoun County in 1975 to become their caregiver and maintain the family farm, raising cattle, hay and row crops. During this time Dudley was active in the Reid Jaycees and activities at Poplar Springs Baptist Church. He was appointed to the Northwest Community College Board of Trustees. Dudley also served on the board of Bancorp South, the Mental Health Advisory Committee, Poplar Springs Cemetery Association, and the Child Development Council. He also served on the Soil and Water Conservation Board for 30 years, remaining committed to soil conservation as a landowner until his death. In 2012, Dudley received the Distinguished Servant Award at the MLK Banquet in Calhoun County. He was also a dedicated listener and supporter of Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Throughout the 1990's, each July, Dudley's former home, The Sharecropper, was part of the tour of the Faulkner Conference at Ole Miss.i

These activities and his dedication to them speak to Dudley's civic mindedness and patriotism. A "Yellow Dog Democrat," He was always a proud American, dedicated to the election process and the two-party system of government.

Dudley's innate understanding that nature is the world's ultimate art led him to enjoy creating art from natural items. He conducted many workshops with children, showing them how they could collect natural items and create unusual pieces of art. For several years he displayed and sold his natural pieces of art work during his open houses at The Sharecropper. Other artist friends brought their artwork to display and sell the last Saturday in October until Dudley's health begin to decline.

Dudley's activities as an artist and conservationist were featured in countless magazines and newspapers over the years. His dear friend, Joel McNeece of the Calhoun County Journal, found inspiration out of their friendship of many years, and featured Dudley often in his newspaper. Joel "always enjoyed Dudley's art and stories, almost as much as his friendship." Like numerous other friends and acquaintances of Dudley's, Joel often enjoyed the magnificent view from the deck of"The Aerie," Dudley's home of 12 years and where he was so grateful that he was able to spend his last days.

Dudley Davis leaves two sisters, Martha Davis Killebrew (John), or Winona, MS, and Kay Davis Ellis (Gowan), of Clinton, MS, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Virginia Ruth Davis.

A memorial service will be held at Parker Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Bruce, MS on Saturday, May 1 ^st at Noon with visitation beginning at 11:00 a.m. The family request donations be made to Mississippi Public Broadcasting in Jackson, MS or Sanctuary Hospice in Tupelo, MS. Dudley's many friends will take comfort in the wonderful memories of a life well-lived. He was a special human being who will always be remembered and loved by many.