and Lillian Edwards. He was born 12 Oct 1919 in Walters, Oklahoma. He married Jeanette Burgin on 14 Jul 1940. Together they had five children:
Charles died 13 Oct 2003. The following is a copy of his obituary:
Albuquerque Journal - October 18, 2003
Charles R (C.R.) Davis, longtime
Albuquerque resident, businessman, and
Little Theatre icon was born on October 12, 1919 in
Walters, Oklahoma. He died early Monday
morning, October 13, 2003 at home with his family the day after his 84th
birthday. He was the only child of Lillian Edwards and Rex Dewey
Davis. Rex was a wild and free spirit whose
career was varied. Lillian, daughter of an east
Texas farmer, had wanderlust and moved
constantly throughout the west, taking Charles with her to the extent that he
was never able to complete one full school year at any one location. As a
result, he vowed to raise his family in one home with two parents. Charles and
his wife Jeanette built their home in Albuquerque's Nob Hill area in 1954,
where they raised their family and where he lived for the rest of his life. Of
the many places Charles lived in his youth, Cottonwood, Arizona was his
favorite where he was elected president of his senior high school class. His
mother moved him to
Albuquerque in his senior year and he was
unable to complete his duties as class president. He graduated from
Albuquerque High in 1937 after meeting his
future wife, Jeanette
Burgin. They married on July 14, 1940 and
celebrated their 63rd year of marriage this past July. Charles served as a
corporal in Patton's Third Army from 1944 through 1945 where, fortuitously, he
was pulled from the infantry at the beginning of the
Battle of the Bulge and transferred to the
Counter Intelligence
Corps because of typing skills he learned in
business school. This twist of fate probably saved his life as his infantry
squad suffered horrendous casualties. Charles and Jeanette had five children,
Sue, was born in 1944 while he was at war; son, Jim was born in 1947 in
Englewood, CA. Three more children followed all born in Albuquerque; Jon in
1952, Debbie in 1954 and Sally in 1957. While in
California, Charles acquired the franchise for
the first Laundromat in the country before moving to
Albuquerque in 1949 where he went into the
road building business. Over the next several years Charles built his paving
business into a statewide company, building portions of
New Mexico interstates and bridges including
several of the bridges on I-25 over Central and
Lomas. Always an advocate for the underdog
Charles hired the first Black Caterpillar tractor operators in NM and then had
to fight the local union, which did not allow black men to join and after
lengthy litigation he won his case and his two black employees were the first
allowed into the union in NM. He was proud of his efforts to promote equal
rights among all people. In 1953 Charles and Jeanette helped fund and start the
first adoption agency in
Albuquerque. A later interest in politics,
Charles ran for city commissioner in 1966; the same race in which Pete
Domenici became a city commissioner and got his
political start. Charles was a member of the Masons since 1944, active in
Temple 6 of the Ballut Abyad Shrine, and a member of San
Marcial #34 O.E.S. Charles' lifelong interest
in acting began at
Albuquerque High in 1937 where he was
introduced to Kathryn Kennedy
O'Connor, the founder of the
Albuquerque Little Theatre. He and
Jeanette moved to
California after high school so he could study
acting at the Pasadena Playhouse where he met Bernie Thomas, who later became a
longtime director of the
Albuquerque Little Theatre. After
returning to
Albuquerque in 1949, Charles performed in
over 40 plays at the Little Theatre over the next 50 years, including the plays
Gramercy Ghost directed by Kathryn
O'Connor, Arsenic and Old Lace, Janus with
Linda
Darnell, Andersonville
Trial, Sleuth, Catch Me If You Can, and Best Of
Friends with June
Lockhart. During that time he also served on
the Board of Directors and was a trustee at the
Albuquerque Little Theatre. His last play
at the ALT was Solid Gold Cadillac in 1997 where his grandson Jason
Davis acted alongside him. In 1997 Charles was
awarded the first Kathryn award for 50 years of outstanding service to the
Albuquerque Little Theatre. Charles was a
private pilot who loved to fly and owned several single and twin engine
airplanes during his life. He often times landed his plane on the under
construction interstate highways he built. In his later retirement years
Charles became an avid urban gardener and greenhouse farmer. He was given the
nickname Colonel P for his horticultural expertise by those who loved his
produce. Always an innovator, Charles was ahead of his time. Charles is
survived by his wife, Jeanette
Davis, daughters Sue
Davis, Debra
Davis, Sally
Cadieux, son Jon
Davis, grandsons Jason
Davis,
Evan Davis, Steven
Mattern, Andy
Mattern, Patrick
Cadieux, and granddaughter Renee
Cadieux. He was preceded in death by his son
Jim
Davis in 1981. At Charles’ request there will
be no memorial or service. In lieu of flowers donations can be given to the
Benevolent Fund of San
Marcial #34 O.E.S. in care of Ellen Weimer,
secretary 11207 Morris Pl NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112. His ashes will be
scattered in
Albuquerque and Cottonwood Az, along with
those of his mother and his son Jim.
