Denver Jackson Davis
Former pastor of Gaffney First Baptist Church

Denver Jackson Davis, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Dwight E. Davis, of Marietta, Ohio, and a direct descendent of Stonewall Jackson, passed away on Jan. 12, 2008.

Dr. Davis was born in Marietta, Ohio, on July 3, 1915. He received his education at Denison University, Marietta College, Crozer Theological Seminary and Oxford University (England). He had served the First Baptist Church of St. Mary's, W.Va., Sistersville, W.Va., and Princeton, W.Va.; the First Baptist Church of Staunton, Va., and First Baptist Church of Petersburg, Va. He also served as pastor of the Gregory Memorial Baptist Church in Baltimore, Md., First Baptist Church of Gaffney and the Rosalind Hills Baptist Church of Roanoke, Va.

While in Virginia, Dr. Davis served as a member of the General Board of Missions and Education and a member of the Finance Committee in the establishment of Eagle Eyrie, as an assembly for Virginia Baptists. Also, he organized two churches in Staunton.

Before leaving Virginia, he started a weekly radio program, "Across the Pastor's Desk," which became well known in the valley of Virginia. The letters he received from this program formed the basis of his book bearing the same title, which had an introduction by Norman Vincent Peale.

Dr. Davis became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Gaffney on Jan.1, 1956. During those years, he served as a member of the General Board of South Carolina Baptist, chairing the Executive Committee for three years and served as chairman of the Budget Committee for two years. He was a trustee of the Baptist Courier. He had served the local Baptist Associations, where he had been located in various leadership capacities and was moderator of the Broad River Association (S.C.), 1963-1965. He had a weekly column for a number of years entitled "Across the Pastor's Desk," which was a trademark in the Baptist Courier. He was vitally interested in the field of mental health and organized the Cherokee Mental Health Association. He was invited by the American Medical Association to participate in their First Congress on Mental Health and Mental Diseases. He also participated as a resource panel member.

Dr. Davis had been active in community life and served on the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross, the Rotary Club, of which he was president and had a perfect attendance for 31 years, and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was a member of the Palmetto Council of Boy Scouts and the Gaffney Fellowship of Ministers.

In Virginia, he served as a member of the Convention's Religious Liberty Committee and chairman of the Roanoke Area Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis. In September 1979, he became the first chaplain of Friendship Manor Retirement Community, from which he retired on Jan. 1, 1992.

Dr. Davis and his family traveled extensively in the United States and abroad. His speaking engagements took him into all areas of this country as well as Europe.

His wife for 62 years, Martha Jane Davis, slipped into the arms of God on July 31, 2002. He is survived by a daughter, Connie Fortanbary and her husband, Wayne, of Barnwell, S.C.; and a son, Dr. John Jackson Davis and his wife, Lisa, of Roanoke. He is also survived by two granddaughters, Rachel McCall Davis and Sara Elise Davis, of Roanoke; four grandsons and their families, Michael Wayne Fortanbary and wife, Ramona, of Huntsville, Ala., and greatgrandchildren, David Morison, Lauren Fortanbary, Andrew and Ashley Fortanbary, David Jackson Fortanbary and wife, Kitty, of Marietta, Ga., and great-grandchildren, William Jackson and Alex Caldwell, Charles Fortanbary, of Charlotte, N.C., and John Lloyd Fortanbary and wife, Leslee, of Columbia, S.C.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m. today from Oakey's North Chapel, with the Rev. Ed Nicholson officiating. Interment will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens.

Visitation was held Sunday from 4-6 p.m. at Oakey's North Chapel, Roanoke , Va.