Nov. 21, 1928 – April 1, 2018

 

NATCHEZ — Graveside services for Dr. John Ivy Davis, 89, of Hattiesburg, formerly of Natchez, who died Sunday, April 1, 2018, will be noon Wednesday at the Natchez City Cemetery with Deacon Karl Koberger officiating.

Burial will follow under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.

John was born Nov. 21, 1928, in Utica, the son of J.M. and Annie Lou Ivy Davis.

He was a graduate of Utica High School and served in the U.S. Air Force in Japan and Germany following World War II. He graduated from Millsaps College and Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, Mo.  He returned to Jackson where he was in the first class of residents at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  He practiced internal medicine in Natchez from 1960 to 1975.  He continued to practice in Beaumont, Texas, for 15 more years until he retired. In 2011, he and Shirley retired to Hattiesburg where they lived until his death.  John Ivy was a pilot, sailor and a master gardener.  Later in life, his yard and his many plants were his pride and joy.

He is preceded in death by his parents and one brother-in-law, Louis Hodges of Lexington, Va.

Survivors include his wife of 42 years, Shirley Luttrell Davis; six children, Marianne Koberger and husband, Karl, of Gulfport; Elsie White and husband, Dick, of Tupelo; Bill Davis and wife, Dottie, of Mandeville, La.; Chuck Davis and wife, Loran, of Bellevue, Wash; Jenny Petty and husband, Benny, of Hattiesburg, Dicky Laird and wife, Diane, and Gene Laird and wife, Laura, all of  Natchez; one brother, Walter Davis and wife, Charlene, of Burlington, N.C.; one sister, Helen Davis Hodges of Asheville, N.C.; 16 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to STARC of Louisiana, 40201 Hwy 190 East, Slidell, LA 70460; Batson Children’s Hospital, University of Mississippi Medical Center, P.O. Box 22789, Jackson, MS 39225; or to a charity of choice.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at lairdfh.com.