Benjamin F. Davis

Benjamin Francis Davis, the son of Elmer and Sophia Ponach Davis, was born July 30, 1926 in Princeton, MN. His childhood years were spent in Cresco, IA, where he received his education, graduating from Cresco High School in 1943. He later attended Iowa State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls, IA for one year. He entered the military in 1945, where he served as an aviation electrician in the U.S. Navy during WWII, until his honorable discharge in 1946. Ben married Maxine Joyce Dunt on October 25, 1951 in Cresco, IA. Following their marriage, he began his career in Law Enforcement, working for the DNR as a biologist's aide and later a conservation officer in 1952, assigned to Mitchell and Floyd Counties and living in Osage, IA for 12 years. He was promoted to Law Enforcement Supervisor and transferred to Spencer, IA in August of 1964, where he continued his career, until his retirement in January of 1989 after nearly 38 years of service. Following his retirement, he enjoyed working for RIDES for the last 10 years. He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Spencer. Ben was also active in the American Legion since 1947, where he held numerous positions. He was very active in the Boy Scouts, where he held several administrative positions. He had a lifelong interest in hunting, fishing, aquatic sports and water safety. Ben served many years as a Red Cross Water Safety and First Aid instructor, where he developed and coordinated water safety training programs for enforcement officers of his department. He also served on the board of the Iowa Great Lakes Chapter of the American Red Cross, where he was active for many years. One of his many family activities was traveling, in the early years tent camping or canoeing Ben passed away at the Spencer Hospital on Sunday, January 3, 2010 at the age of 83. He was preceded in death by his parents and a half brother, Edward Svoboda. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Maxine of Spencer; one daughter, Deborah Davis of Ankeny, IA; two sons: Richard Davis and his wife, Julie of Oakridge, OR and Danford Davis and his wife, Shannon of Minneapolis, MN; his granddogs; a sister, Edith and her husband, Danford Roberts of Harrison, AK; other relatives and many, many friends.

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