Final Spotlight on Mrs. Thelma Jean Davis

Hi, Everyone!

This is the final Black History Spotlight of the week, and I promise you that it’s a gooden. The final spotlight falls upon a very close friend to the family, Mrs. Thelma Jean Davis (nee Thompson).

The eldest of seven children, Thelma Jean Davis (nee Thompson) was born on December 8, 1930 in Birmingham, Alabama to George and Bernadette Thompson. Ever since she was five years old, Mother Davis just had a heart “as big as the world,” and she always made it her mission to let her light shine so that others could be just as happy as she.

Mother Davis graduated from Clark Atlanta University in 1952 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. In the same year, she met Raymond Davis, and the two were wed in January 1953. To this union, three children were born.

Mother Davis followed her husband and moved out west to Los Angeles, California in 1972 as a means to seek a better life. It was in Los Angeles that Mother Davis joined the First Baptist Church of Culver City, under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Henry Jenkins (later succeeded by the Rev. Stanley D. Richardson), and to this day, Mother Davis is looked at as one of the strongest pillars of her church. She is so totally devoted to her church that she has been on the hospitality committee for over twenty years.

Another interesting tidbit about Mother Davis: Her last caretaking patient was her very own husband, up until his passing in 1994. She can hold her head up high and say that she did all that was required of her to do in taking care of him, yet she still misses him, and rightfully so. Nowadays one can find Mother Davis chillin’ in the cut with her “sista from another mista,” my Gramma Jewel.

Oh, yeah—Mother Davis also appointed me as her surrogate grandbaby!

Well, y’all—there it is! I hope you all enjoyed learning about the important historic people in my life, of which a great majority are in my family. Don’t get me wrong—I am grateful for Martin, Malcolm, Sojourner, Harriet, and President Obama, but sometimes you have to consider the treasure chest within your own backyard. With that said, I thank God for Great Grampa Gregory, Great Gramma Lynn, and so many of those who have paved the way for me to be where I am today.

And one day, I’m gonna be mentioned in Black History!

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha