Janie Mae Davis

Janie Mae Davis was born September 20, 1938, to Richard and Annie Lee Thomas in Escambia County, Florida. She was the younger of their two children, following her older sister Marie. She also had a half-brother, Leon Thomas, and a half-sister, Gloria Jones.  On June 6, 2024,  she was called home to her heavenly rest.

      Sister Davis spent her early life in Pensacola, Florida.  As a young woman she relocated to Massachusetts with her small son, working for the city and in other programs. When her son entered Holyoke Community College upon his high school graduation in 1974, Sister Davis enrolled with him. They remained classmates until he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1976. Sister Davis then attended beauty school, and for a time worked in a hair salon.

     Not long after her son joined the military, she returned to Pensacola to be near her family.  She worked for many years in food services on the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Upon her retirement, she relocated to Hampton, Virginia, to live with her son, Forace, and his family. 

Receiving Christ as her Savior as a child, she was active in her family church in Pensacola,  Shiloh Baptist Church.  While living in Holyoke, Massachusetts, she was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir. After moving to Hampton, she joined Mercy Seat Baptist Church home, and until her health limited her activities sang in the choir, was active in the Culinary Care Ministry and Mid-week Bible Study.

     Sister Davis was a voracious reader, often borrowing a bagful of paperback novels at a time from the local library. When her family gifted her a Kindle,  she became an avid electronic device user, not only reading online books, but engaging friends and family in “Words with Friends” and FaceBook posts. 

     Small in stature, but enormous in personality and presence, she was known for her wit and generous heart. Her family and her church were all-important to her and she enjoyed showing her love through food. While her health permitted she delighted in providing refreshments for the Sunday School and weekday Bible Study classes.  Her mac and cheese were legendary and her out-of-town family eagerly looked forward to the carry-out containers of it that she would hand out at the end of their visits.

     She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved only child, Forace “Mac” McDaniels (Debbie);  a grandson, Keion McDaniels; a granddaughter, Kayla McDaniels; nieces Debra Tucker (Earl), Regina “Cookie” Reynolds, Yolanda “Renee” Reynolds, Brenda Jackson (Bruce), and Cheryl Reynolds; a half-sister, Gloria Jones; and a multitude of great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great-nieces, great-great-nephews, and friends. Her siblings, Marie Reynolds and Leon Thomas; a nephew, Reginal “Butch” Reynolds; and a niece, Jeryl Reynolds, predeceased her.      

A memorial service celebrating her life will held on Saturday, June 29, 2024, at Mercy Baptist Church, 1013 Todds Lane, Hampton, Virginia, at 11 a.m

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