Sarah Jean Davis

Sarah Jean Davis was born in the small town of Macon, Mississippi, the seventh of Dolly Windham Tolbert and Willie Lester Tolbert’s nine children. Joining one of the last waves of the Great Migration, the family moved to Detroit in 1945. A product of Detroit Public Schools, Sarah attended Craft Elementary and Condon Intermediate School and graduated from Northwestern High School in 1956. It was at Northwestern that she met the love of her life Charles Harold (Chuck) Davis. They married in 1957 and enjoyed a loving partnership for 39 years. Sarah began her professional career at Manufacturers Bank in Detroit, where she worked as a secretary, until her children Darlene and Dean were born when she became a full-time homemaker. Sarah worked hard to make her home attractive and welcoming. She loved to cook for family and friends and entertain them in her home. Never forgetting their favorite treats, Sarah would often surprise friends and relatives with a special cake or pie. She was an avid gardener and excelled at creating landscapes that positioned each plant to the best advantage. Sarah continued to pursue her professional interests, studying business in California, Illinois and Ohio as Chuck’s work took him to those states. Her research would bear fruit when she opened Sarah’s Florist in 1998, combining her love of flowers with her interest in entrepreneurship. Sarah Jean Davis had a knack for caring. She was a loving wife and mother, a doting aunt and grandmother, and a loyal friend. Sarah’s life principles were simple, but steadfast—Faith, Family, Friends. Those principles led Sarah to seek a church where Dean and Darlene could join in faith-based activities. Lacking a car, she settled on Saint Timothy’s Episcopal Church, where she could walk them to church. Sarah joined the church and was confirmed. And it was at Saint Timothy’s she met Norma Yuille, whose friendship she would cherish for 50 years. Sarah was recently welcomed into the Christ Church Detroit Family and she took frequent comfort in scripture. She enjoyed reading, knitting and yoga. Sarah generously gave her time to charitable efforts and was a regular volunteer at the Bloomfield Senior Center. Sarah passed away peacefully at home and surrounded by her loving family on September 19, 2020 after a brief and courageous struggle with cancer. She was predeceased by her husband Charles Harold Davis, her sisters and brothers, Thelma, Will, Evelyn, Dolly, James, John, Dorothy, and Flora, and her faithful canine companion, Sable. She leaves to cherish her memory, her loving children, Darlene (David), and Dean (Mildred), granddaughter, Deanna White, grandsons, Christopher Jackson, Dean Davis, Anthony Davis, Eric Jackson and Gregory Jackson, her cousins, a host of nieces and nephews, her sister-in-law Ottis Tolbert (Will) and brother-in-law Clarence Calloway (Dolly) and many other friends and acquaintances.

Sarah Jean Davis

September 6, 1937 - September 19, 2020