Rose Mary Davis

Rose Mary Davis was born on August 2, 1934, to William Davis Sr. and Alixia (Baylor) Davis. She was the fourth born of 5 children, Early Easter, William Davis Jr., Bertrice, and Tyree. Rose Mary was preceded in death by her parents and all four siblings.

She attended Harriet Bencher Stowe Elementary in Kansas, which was a school for Black children. She also attended Timmons School where she recalled her first experiences with desegregation and racism. Despite being one of the most intelligent students in her class, she wasn’t allowed to advance forward with other students because she was Black. She was therefore almost 20 years old when she graduated from Bonner Springs High School and decided to leave Kansas and move to California for a better life.

Her new life in California included rededicating her life to Jesus Christ, raising her three beautiful children, Valerie, Wanda, and Howie; and pursuing her love for education and the arts. While being an active church member, mother, and working full-time for the Los Angeles School District as an Office Clerk, Rose Mary completed her Bachelor’s degree in Business and a Master’s degree in Educational Administration. Her post-secondary degrees enabled her to start a new career as a School Teacher, where she would eventually teach for more than 20 years at the Los Angeles School District and 10 years at the Pomona School District.

Rose Mary always loved the arts. She began her lifelong dream of becoming a classical musician at the age of 10, which is when her father purchased her first piano and enrolled her in piano lessons. Throughout her life, she would go on to excel at playing the piano and the guitar, singing, writing music lyrics and movie scripts, and teaching Music, Drama, and Art with the Visual and Performing Arts program. Anyone that knew her, knew that arts were her biggest love and passion.

In her latter years, she met Nolan Bailey (affectionately known as Mr. B) who became her life partner for 23 years until his death in 2019. She also shared a very special relationship with her granddaughter, Nikki Wells, in which they referred to each other as “Best Friend”.

Rose Mary was preceded in death by her daughter Valerie Wright; and is survived by one daughter, Wanda Walker, one son, Howard Johnson Jr; three grandchildren, Nikki Wells, Keisha McElligott, and Hakan Johnson; two great grandsons, Jorden Tyler and Jerry McElligott; and a host of nieces, nephews, and other family members. She will be sorely missed.

Services have been scheduled and are as follows: Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 12:30pm at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, CA.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com/location/sherman-oaks-cremation for the Davis family.