Rev. Davis from Mulligan

April 5, 1915 - May 17, 2016

The Rev. Joel Kelly Davis

April 5, 1915 - May 17, 2016

The Rev.Joel Kelly

Founder & Pastor Emeritus Grace Missionary Baptist Church

D119342_GloriaRoss.indd 1 5/19/16 11:44 AM

Celebrating the life of

The Rev.Joel Kelly DavisApril 5, 1915 - May 17, 2016

Sunday, May 22, 2016Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church

5500 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., St. Louis, MO 63112Rev. Michael Jones, Pastor

Family Processional/Hymn Medley Musical Selection Friendly Temple Choir Old Testament Scripture Rev. Ronald L. Bobo, Pastor, West Side M.B. Church New Testament Scripture Rev. Carlton Caldwell, Pastor, Galilee M.B. Church Prayer of Comfort Rev. Emmanuel Searcy, Second New Mount Zion M.B. Church Musical Selection Mass Choir Solo Zella Jackson Price Condolences/Acknowledgements Friendly Temple, Grace Baptist, Midwestern, Divinity Proclamations Special Remarks (3 minutes, please) Union District Rev. Theodore R. Williams, Jr., Moderator Berean District Rev. Keith Pendleton, Moderator Antioch District Rev. Donald Ray McNeil, Moderator Philadelphia District Rev. Ralph Jackson, Moderator Minister’s Union of St. Louis Rev. Oliver K. Patterson, President Missouri State Convention Rev. Dr. Jimmy L Brown, Pastor, St. Luke M.B. Church President, Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri Solo Faith, Jeannette Olivia Brooks, Daughter Special Remarks (3 minutes, please) Caretaker - Missouri Veteran’s Home Friend - Rev. Lewis Jenkins, Pastor New Morning Star M.B Church Family Member - Marian Whiteside, Pine Bluff, Ark. Reading of Obituary Soft Music Video Presentation Reflections of My Father Rev. Jonathan K Davis, Pastor, Grace M.B. Church My Mentor, My Friend Musical Selection Amazing Grace, Zella Jackson Price The Eulogy Pastor Michael Jones, Friendly Temple M.B. Church Parting View Benediction/Recessional

“I was born to preach,” Rev. Davis said in a 2001 St. Louis Post-Dispatch

profile. “You can ask my brother. He said when we were young and the chickens would die, I

would preach their funerals.”

Rev. Davis lived through six major U.S. wars, the Great Depression, the landing of a man on the moon and he saw the inauguration of 17 presi-dents, including the first African-American presi-dent, Barack Hussein Obama. He did not squander that long life – he relentlessly spread the gospel with energy and urgency for almost one hundred years.

He took to the pulpit in the 1950s when the pastor of Central Baptist Church, the late Rev. Thomas E. Huntley, gave him a chance to preach. A few years later, he was ordained by Rev. Huntley, a man who knew Martin Luther King, Jr. personally and whom Rev. Davis called his “spiritual father.”

Over the years, he also attended Southern Mission M.B. Church and

Mount Zion M.B. Church, but Rev. Davis, a born leader, wanted to shepherd his own congregation. So with his wife Juanita, whom he met at Central Baptist by his

side, he founded Grace Missionary Baptist Church at Twenty-Second

and Cole streets in 1956. In a parade that stretched for blocks, the church

moved to 2323 Cass Avenue in 1960, and then to its current location at 2319 Cass a few years later. For 48 years, he pastored historic Grace Missionary Baptist Church, which is now pastored by his son, Rev. Jonathan Davis,

Dispensing GraceAt first, the church was in the midst of a bustling community, across the street from the brand new Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex. Before it was Grace, the location was Keller’s Market. After the store was bombed and looted – in retaliation for the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. – police called Rev. Davis to the burning building to coax and escort the store’s owner, Mr. Keller, out through the angry crowd to safety. Mr. Keller soon sold the store to Rev. Davis and never returned.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch photo 2001

Rev. Davis hired children – his own and others from the neighborhood – to scrub the black soot from the cinderblock walls to create a holy place. At the end of each day, the children lined up as Rev. Davis doled out their payment for their day’s work. Other ministers also helped him convert the burned out store into a church. Prominent businesses donated building supplies and security.

Grace Baptist rose from the ashes to become not only a church, but a neigh-

borhood haven. From its doors, Rev. Davis fed

bellies. minds and souls amd he was

fearless in his com-mitment to bring-ing souls to Christ. He went wherever God sent him – in-cluding Pruitt Igoe,

even after it became a place many feared.

“I was just doing the Lord’s work and knew he

would protect us,” Rev. Davis said. He knew everybody and talked to everybody. That included most of the gangsters, like the ones who once shot through the church doors and the thieves who rammed the back of the church to gain entry.

Members not close enough to walk to Grace, he picked up in the church’s green and white Volkswa-gen van. That same bus was used to bring in goods

for the church’s food pantry, to take food to elderly people and to give rides to people looking for work. But no one got to their destination quickly: Rev. Da-vis was known as “Rev. Lightfoot” for his penchant for driving well below the speed limit.


The food and help he dispensed was often accom-panied by a “sermonette,” just a quick Word of the Lord because Rev. Davis was a man on the move.

His work in the community earned him a spot on the advisory board of directors of Tillie’s Corner, Inc., as well as the Human Development Corpo-ration’s Neighborhood Advisory Council – and a permanent place in the hearts of thousands.

In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Reverend and Sis-ter Davis hosted a weekly Sunday broadcast on Radio KATZ 1600 called “Moments with Grace.” Sister Davis’s beautiful voice resounded each week: “Designed to…inspire you to day by day increase your faith in God.” Each week she would dedicate the program to a different set of listeners, often includ-ing her children to their listening delight.

The AssignmentJoel Kelly Davis, who took the surname of his stepfather, was the son of Emma Vincent Jackson and Paul Kelly, a prosperous Ar-kansas cotton farmer. He was born April 5, 1915, in Monroe County, Arkansas in the town of Clarendon, where he picked his share of cotton. He was baptized in a lake when he was 11. The following year, he came to St. Louis, where his mother had moved earlier.

As a young boy, he attended Bethlehem Elementary School in Clarendon. After ar-riving in St. Louis, he attended Lincoln Elementary and Vashon High schools, as well as Hubbard Business College. He later took divinity classes provided by Western Bible Extension College at Central Baptist.

Rev. Davis didn’t like to talk much about his early life in the country, but, in a way, he sang about it all the time. “Little Wooden Church on the Hill” was his signature song.

It was in my childhood, many years ago, with the spirit of the Savior I was filled, at an old-fashion meeting, my memory lingers still, in that little old wooden church, way out on the hill.

But Clarendon was the past. At 19, Rev. Davis put down stakes in the heart of the city, open-ing Snappy System, a downtown sandwich shop. He soon gave up the restaurant business in favor of a steady job as a porter and foreman at Emerson Electric.

In between, he had myriad jobs. For a time, he was the nicest bill collector in the history of Wellston Loan and other loan companies; he often reluctantly collected money from people he knew. He sold women’s stockings and dresses, was a waiter and an elevator operator, and he did brief stints at Hubbard Business College, Valhalla Cem-etery, the YMCA and the Mark Building. He sold real

estate, and for a long time, he had a side job as a photographer. He had his own darkroom, where he developed the pictures he took of weddings and other special occasions.

Rev. Davis served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy. He received three promotions in three

months, and was honorably discharged after 18 months as a seaman third class.

He held positions as supply technician and shop steward at Emerson Electric, where he worked for 10 years. He retired after 38 years from the U.S. Troop Support Command in 1981.

“Retirement,” simply meant more time for what Rev. Davis called “his assignment:” preaching.

Feeding his flock was his passion. However, in Feb-ruary of 2005, Rev. Davis became Pastor Emeritus, passing the torch to his son, Rev. Jonathan Davis. He was then able to visit the churches of his fellow clergy on a regular basis, still spreading the gospel wherever he went. He was a proud member of

In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Reverend and Sis

broadcast on Radio

day by day increase your faith in God.” Each week she would dedicate the

Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church where his friend the Rev. Michael Jones is pastor. Rev. Davis was also great friends with the grandfather of Pas-

tor Jones, the Rev. R.F. Davis, founder of Friendly Temple.

Say Hallelujah!“On assignment” or not, Rev. Davis usually wore a suit, silk tie with

a matching pocket square and his trademark fedora. His wife chose his

wardrobe, causing some to suggest that he was henpecked. He denied it. “But it’s all right to be henpecked,” he’d laugh, “if you like the hen that’s pecking you.”

That was always his manner: humor with a mes-sage. But he was also a man quick to reveal his heart. That earned him the nickname “Jeremiah,” for the “weeping prophet,” because, said his daughter Bernadette, “he would cry at the drop of a hat.”

The fearlessness he displayed as a young husband, father and minister never abated. Nearing 80, he donned pads and joined the children’s party at Skate King skating rink. He stayed upright long enough to prove he could do this as he did so many other things, like singing. Not as well as his wife, his “Sweeta Nita,” but he would surely sing. Oratory, however, was his gift and in his youth he would elo-

quently introduce quartets, making him sort of the “Kirk Franklin” of his day.

Rev. Davis was often lauded for the amazing mind that made him a shrewd businessman and a check-ers master. He loved ice cream, peaches and Lorna Doones, horseback riding and Cardinals baseball. But next to the Lord, what he loved most was his family, few of whom could ever keep up with him.

He even had a lyric for his legendary energy level: “I will not slow down. I’m going to sail until I fail; I’m going to shop until I drop; I’m going to go until I blow. And when I can get to heaven and count to 11, well then I’ll say, ‘hallelujah!’”

Last Mile of the WayRev. Davis was the oldest living active

minister in the St. Louis area, but he now has a God-imposed stillness. As he would sing, “I have gone the last mile of the way, I shall rest at the close of the day, for I know there are

joys that await me, when I’ve gone the last mile of the way.”

In addition to his parents, Rev. Davis was preceded in death by seven sib-lings, T.C. Kelly, Ehrman Davis, Charlie

Mae Phillips, Delarcey Davis, Myrtle McGhee, Paul W. Kelly and Willie Kelly.

He will be lovingly remembered and forever mourned by his children, Vivian (Jerry) Ransburg of St. Louis, daughter from the 10-year marriage of Joel and Althlee (deceased); Annette Rogers of St. Louis, Claudette Carawan of Houston, Joel Kelly (Kharye) Davis Jr. of Daufuskie Island, S.C.., Bernadette (Brad-ley) Jones of St. Louis,, Jeanette (Joseph) Brooks of Conyers, GA; Jacquelyn Sherrod of Greenville, S.C., Jonathan (Felicia) Davis of St. Louis, Juanita (Tom) Krasovic of San Diego and Juan C. (Sybil) Davis of Washington, D.C.

Rev. Davis will always be in the hearts of his surviv-ing sisters, Arwilda (Cleotis) Whiteside, Whitehall, AR, and Claudine LaViolette, Alma Grace (Joseph) Tate and Naomi Isby, all of Detroit.

He had 26 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.


The food and help he dispensed was often accom-panied by a “sermonette,” just a quick Word of the Lord because Rev. Davis was a man on the move.

His work in the community earned him a spot on the advisory board of directors of Tillie’s Corner, Inc., as well as the Human Development Corpo-ration’s Neighborhood Advisory Council – and a permanent place in the hearts of thousands.

In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Reverend and Sis-ter Davis hosted a weekly Sunday broadcast on Radio KATZ 1600 called “Moments with Grace.” Sister Davis’s beautiful voice resounded each week: “Designed to…inspire you to day by day increase your faith in God.” Each week she would dedicate the program to a different set of listeners, often includ-ing her children to their listening delight.

The AssignmentJoel Kelly Davis, who took the surname of his stepfather, was the son of Emma Vincent Jackson and Paul Kelly, a prosperous Ar-kansas cotton farmer. He was born April 5, 1915, in Monroe County, Arkansas in the town of Clarendon, where he picked his share of cotton. He was baptized in a lake when he was 11. The following year, he came to St. Louis, where his mother had moved earlier.

As a young boy, he attended Bethlehem Elementary School in Clarendon. After ar-riving in St. Louis, he attended Lincoln Elementary and Vashon High schools, as well as Hubbard Business College. He later took divinity classes provided by Western Bible Extension College at Central Baptist.

Rev. Davis didn’t like to talk much about his early life in the country, but, in a way, he sang about it all the time. “Little Wooden Church on the Hill” was his signature song.

It was in my childhood, many years ago, with the spirit of the Savior I was filled, at an old-fashion meeting, my memory lingers still, in that little old wooden church, way out on the hill.

But Clarendon was the past. At 19, Rev. Davis put down stakes in the heart of the city, open-ing Snappy System, a downtown sandwich shop. He soon gave up the restaurant business in favor of a steady job as a porter and foreman at Emerson Electric.

In between, he had myriad jobs. For a time, he was the nicest bill collector in the history of Wellston Loan and other loan companies; he often reluctantly collected money from people he knew. He sold women’s stockings and dresses, was a waiter and an elevator operator, and he did brief stints at Hubbard Business College, Valhalla Cem-etery, the YMCA and the Mark Building. He sold real

estate, and for a long time, he had a side job as a photographer. He had his own darkroom, where he developed the pictures he took of weddings and other special occasions.

Rev. Davis served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy. He received three promotions in three

months, and was honorably discharged after 18 months as a seaman third class.

He held positions as supply technician and shop steward at Emerson Electric, where he worked for 10 years. He retired after 38 years from the U.S. Troop Support Command in 1981.

“Retirement,” simply meant more time for what Rev. Davis called “his assignment:” preaching.

Feeding his flock was his passion. However, in Feb-ruary of 2005, Rev. Davis became Pastor Emeritus, passing the torch to his son, Rev. Jonathan Davis. He was then able to visit the churches of his fellow clergy on a regular basis, still spreading the gospel wherever he went. He was a proud member of

Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church where his friend the Rev. Michael Jones is pastor. Rev. Davis was also great friends with the grandfather of Pas-

tor Jones, the Rev. R.F. Davis, founder of Friendly Temple.

Say Hallelujah!“On assignment” or not, Rev. Davis usually wore a suit, silk tie with

a matching pocket square and his trademark fedora. His wife chose his

wardrobe, causing some to suggest that he was henpecked. He denied it. “But it’s all right to be henpecked,” he’d laugh, “if you like the hen that’s pecking you.”

That was always his manner: humor with a mes-sage. But he was also a man quick to reveal his heart. That earned him the nickname “Jeremiah,” for the “weeping prophet,” because, said his daughter Bernadette, “he would cry at the drop of a hat.”

The fearlessness he displayed as a young husband, father and minister never abated. Nearing 80, he donned pads and joined the children’s party at Skate King skating rink. He stayed upright long enough to prove he could do this as he did so many other things, like singing. Not as well as his wife, his “Sweeta Nita,” but he would surely sing. Oratory, however, was his gift and in his youth he would elo-

quently introduce quartets, making him sort of the “Kirk Franklin” of his day.

Rev. Davis was often lauded for the amazing mind that made him a shrewd businessman and a check-ers master. He loved ice cream, peaches and Lorna Doones, horseback riding and Cardinals baseball. But next to the Lord, what he loved most was his family, few of whom could ever keep up with him.

He even had a lyric for his legendary energy level: “I will not slow down. I’m going to sail until I fail; I’m going to shop until I drop; I’m going to go until I blow. And when I can get to heaven and count to 11, well then I’ll say, ‘hallelujah!’”

I’m going to shop until I drop; I’m going to go until I blow. And when I can get to heaven and count to 11, well then I’ll say, ‘hallelujah!’”

He even had a lyric for his legendary energy level: “I will not slow down. I’m going to sail until I fail; I’m going to shop until I drop; I’m going to go until I

But next to the Lord, what he loved most was his family, few of whom could ever keep up with him.

that made him a shrewd businessman and a check-ers master. He loved ice cream, peaches and Lorna Doones, horseback riding and Cardinals baseball. But next to the Lord, what he loved most was his

making him sort of the “Kirk Franklin” of his day.

Rev. Davis was often lauded for the amazing mind that made him a shrewd businessman and a check

in his youth he would elo-quently introduce quartets,

making him sort of the “Kirk Franklin” of his day.

would surely sing. Oratory, however, was his gift and

Last Mile of the WayRev. Davis was the oldest living active

minister in the St. Louis area, but he now has a God-imposed stillness. As he would sing, “I have gone the last mile of the way, I shall rest at the close of the day, for I know there are

joys that await me, when I’ve gone the last mile of the way.”

In addition to his parents, Rev. Davis was preceded in death by seven sib-lings, T.C. Kelly, Ehrman Davis, Charlie

Mae Phillips, Delarcey Davis, Myrtle McGhee, Paul W. Kelly and Willie Kelly.

He will be lovingly remembered and forever mourned by his children, Vivian (Jerry) Ransburg of St. Louis, daughter from the 10-year marriage of Joel and Althlee (deceased); Annette Rogers of St. Louis, Claudette Carawan of Houston, Joel Kelly (Kharye) Davis Jr. of Daufuskie Island, S.C.., Bernadette (Brad-ley) Jones of St. Louis,, Jeanette (Joseph) Brooks of Conyers, GA; Jacquelyn Sherrod of Greenville, S.C., Jonathan (Felicia) Davis of St. Louis, Juanita (Tom) Krasovic of San Diego and Juan C. (Sybil) Davis of Washington, D.C.

Rev. Davis will always be in the hearts of his surviv-ing sisters, Arwilda (Cleotis) Whiteside, Whitehall, AR, and Claudine LaViolette, Alma Grace (Joseph) Tate and Naomi Isby, all of Detroit.

He had 26 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.


T he prayers of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16

We are eternally grateful for the friendship, love and

patience you have all shown our father in life and for

the loving kindness and care you have shown us dur-

ing this difficult time. As we cherish memories of him,

please pray that our journey be peaceful.

As Dad would say, “Keep the Faith!”

The Family of Pastor Emeritus Joel Kelly Davis

Pallbearers Juan C. Davis James Gwinn, Jr. Joshua Davis Jonathan Davis, Jr. Jayson Sherrod Jeremy Davis Jomiah Jones Edward Wingo, Jr. Ricky Kelly

Honorary Pallbearers Joel Kelly Davis, Jr. Rev. Jonathan K. Davis, Sr. Juan C Davis Jerry Ransberg Joseph Brooks Tom Krasovic Tommy Calvin

IntermentMonday, May 23, 2016

Jefferson Barracks Leaving Friendly Temple at 9 a.m.

Repast Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church

Immediately following interment

ServicesServices entrusted to Wade Funeral Home

Serviced by Aaron C. Grimes


Rev. Davis from Mulligan

Documents

Transcript of Rev. Davis from Mulligan