David Joel “DJ” Davies Sr. passed away on December 22 at The Woods of Caledonia after a year-long battle with cancer. He was born on June 16, 1946, in Racine to the late Betty Davies (Nee: Fergus) and the late David W. Davies.
David graduated from Washington Park High School in 1964. He was involved in extracurricular activities like track & field and playing the trumpet. In fact, he played with the Kiwanis Youth Symphony traveling through Europe. He also held a part-time job at Lees Flowers.
David enlisted in the United States Army in 1966 and was subsequently stationed in Camp Zama, Japan. During the Vietnam War, David joined the Army Band touring the world. After his tour in Japan, he was stationed at Fort Leavenworth and enrolled in flight school. He would occasionally rent planes to fly home to Wisconsin to visit his parents.
After the Army, he returned to Racine to work for his family company, D.W. Davies & Company, Inc., which was founded by his father in 1955. David held positions such as Vice President, President, and CEO. He often visited Scottsdale, AZ, which was his home away from home. There he enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson during sunset and especially liked Camelback Mountain.
One of David’s most passionate pursuits was aviation. He owned several planes in his life but his first one, a Beech Bonanza, was purchased in 1971. David was once a flight instructor and trained many local pilots. Another passion of his was travel. He often made trips to The West Indies, The British Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Alaska, and Nova Scotia. His hobbies were many, but he especially liked soccer, golf, and skiing.
David is survived by his sons, David J. Davies, Jr. and Daniel W. (Danelle) Davies; step-children Adam (Brooke) Kraft and Amanda (Jason) Ingle; sister, Dee Dee Davies; grandchildren, Larkyn Everly Davies, Payton “Pip” Schultz, Skylar Joy Schultz, Aden and Adison Kraft, Mikayla Haase, and many other family, friends and loved ones. In addition to his parents, he was also was preceded in death by his uncles Robert “Bud”, Charles “Chuck”, and N. Owen “Bump” Davies.
There will be a funeral held at Maresh Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home on Friday, January 4, at 11 a.m. Friends and relatives can meet with the family from 9:30-11:00 a.m. Afterward, there will be a celebration of life reception at Preservation Hall. Entombment with full military honors will be held at West Lawn Memorial Park. Gifts of remembrance may be made to Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin (https://vetsoutreachwi.us).
The family would like to thank the staff and hospice care at Morningstar Assisted Living, Arcadia, Az., and everyone at The Woods of Caledonia, for their dedicated care, patience, friendship, and support.