James Fergus Davis

James Fergus Davis, “Daddy Jim” or “Pop Pop” passed of natural causes on April 1, 2020, at the age of 97, AT KingsBridge Retirement Community. Born June 22, 1922, in Cheyenne, WY, to Elwood and Ruth Davis. He grew up in Mount Gilead, OH, and received his Mechanical Engineering Degree from Ohio State University. Joining in the Air Force in 1943, he became a Norton Bombsight and Autopilot Specialist receiving the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon, World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Ribbon, and Good Conduct Medal. After the war, he enrolled in a study program sponsored by OSU. He spent three months in Mexico City, where he met his future wife, Mary Frances Sargent, a University of Tennessee student in the same program. They were married in Nashville on August 28, 1948.

The couple moved to Decatur, GA, in 1949, and he founded DG Machinery and Gage Company selling CNC machines, tools, and lasers to construct aircraft and ships. He became a private pilot (both single- and multi-engine) to better reach his clients until his retirement at the age of 73.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Frances Davis; his brother, Thomas Kenyon Davis and his two sons, James Kenyon Davis and Jeffrey Scott Davis. He was a loving grandfather to four, and great-grandfather to one. His daughter, Susan Sargent Davis, preceded him in death, 1984. He was active in the First Baptist Church of Decatur as well as the Decatur Rotary Club. Memorial service will be in the Decatur Cemetery in a private ceremony to limit public gathering. Donations may be sent to the First Baptist Church of Decatur to his memory in place of flowers. A. S Turner & Sons.