Zephal Marie Davis 's Obituary
Zephal Marie Bell Davis was born in Detroit Michigan, the only child of Claudia Johnson and Leon Bell. She was known as Zef-a (to her mom), Marie, Zef and Little Girl (to our Dad), mom (to us), Aunt Marie, and Zephal. Her name was an unusual spelling of the word “zephyr” and it describes her perfectly. A Zephyr is “a gentle breeze’. And mom was indeed a calming, soothing, and refreshing presence. A Zephyr in every life that she touched!
She grew up with a large loving family of cousins, aunts and uncles in Longview and Fort Worth, Texas. She was educated in the Ft. Worth Texas school system. Everyone recognized how smart she was and they all had hopes for her to become a teacher. But, when she was just 16, she met fellow I.M. Terrell student Junius Harrell Davis (AKA Silas). As soon as they graduated in 1943 they eloped. He joined the navy and she went to live with her mother in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Mom was delighted that her husband came with a big family she could make her own. She loved her new brothers and sisters and loved being “Aunt Marie” to their children. She was the loving, dedicated mother of her five children: Jesse Castine (named after her husband’s uncle Jesse Morris), Sandra Claudette (named after her young cousin Sandria and her mother Claudia), Sylvia Janice (named after her mother in law Jane), Silas AKA Freddy (named after her husband) and Susan Victoria (named for her baby girl’s victorious struggle with blood incompatibility at birth).
Even though we moved around a lot for the first 12 years, mom, always wanted to “do her part” for our family. She excelled at every job she had and yet she always made sure we had a secure, neat and comfortable home . Her first job was as an elevator operator in Shreveport. When we moved to Detroit in 1952 she went to cosmetology school so she could work from home. After we moved to San Diego California in 1958, she worked for a very (very) short time at the Hotel Del Coronado as a housekeeper. Since we were a little older by then, she also went to school at night to learn to type. She quickly passed the required test and went to work with the County of San Diego as a clerk typist. She retired from the county after 20 years of steady advancement reaching the level of Superior Court Clerk. After she retired and her children had all left home, she went back to school and earned an AA degree in real estate. When the real estate market slowed, she learned to do taxes and managed a tax consulting office until she finally stopped working in 1992.
Although mom was a dedicated wife and a professional woman, she always had time to share her gentle breeze spirit with us children. Mom loved us, played with us, raised us, gently encouraged us to pursue excellence in our studies, and supported our dreams in the different individual ways we needed. She made coffee for Jesse’s midnight studies before he went away to medical school and became a doctor. She served as a model and inspiration for the clothes Sandra made in high school before becoming a world travelling auditor for the federal government. She listened to the stories her “talkers”, Sylvia and Freddy, created before they went off to become a teacher and a lawyer, And she took Susan to French horn and piano lessons and band practices and performances until she eventually left home and became a minister. She read to us, grew up with us, and best of all took us to church with her.
Zephal’s love for God was the guiding force in her life and she lived her faith. She studied the Bible to understand God’s word and His plan for her life Though we moved a lot since her husband was in the Navy and then the Army, her first priority in each new city was to find the nearest church; which we would attend on the first Sunday after we moved into each new home and she was always active in church. She lived her faith!
She lived her faith and shared her faith with others. She worked tirelessly in church auxiliaries such as the Hospitality committee, Eastern Stars, Women’s Fellowship, Missionary society, Guild Girls, Adult Choir, and Bible study groups and she was a strong faithful prayer warrior. Her deep, abiding faith was evident in her kind treatment of everyone she encountered in her daily life and in her work with the Interfaith Homeless Shelter.
She is preceded in death by her doting father, Leon Bell, when she was six years old; her son Jesse at age 42, her mother Claudia and her stepfather Otis Spear who she lovingly cared for and the love of her life, Silas. Those left with loving memories of her include her daughters Sandra, Sylvia and Susan, her son Freddy; her Cousin Velma Jean and the Johnson family, and her Grandchildren, Valerie (Bernard), Zephal, Cheryl, Alexander-Andrew, Chevroy and family, Diandra and family, and Amanda and family.
Members of her extended family include her devoted caregivers, Luz Sandoval and family, Kathleen Leslie Byrd, Sebera Gonzalez and family and Oscar Castro; Carolyn Johnson and family, Amy Fairchild and family; Pamela Fleming and family, Catalina Martinez and family, the Madison family; Maurice Hines, Susan Thomases; the Morris, Byrd, White, Richardson and Davis families; the Tolliver, Carter, Barks, Bell, Cox, Cooper, Willis, and Allen Families; the McFarland family and the Dryden family.
To be a part of Zephal’s family meant you received great home cooking, religious leadership, a non-judgmental confidant, wise counseling, good company, access to her network of community resources, a great role model, a mentor and her generous loving and kind spirit.
Mom was beautiful inside and out. She lived a life filled with the fruits of the spirit and she transitioned the same way she lived - with gentleness, kindness, goodness, patience, joy, ‘Great Faithfulness’, self control, peacefulness and love. Because mom had Alzheimer’s she did not know us when she left but we know that when she got to heaven they knew her and there was a day of rejoicing. We have the ‘Blessed Assurance’ that when we see her again ‘We Shall Behold Him’ and we will all sing and shout the victory together with Jesus.
Mom lived her Faith!
What’s your fondest memory of Zephal?
What’s a lesson you learned from Zephal?
Share a story where Zephal's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Zephal you’ll never forget.
How did Zephal make you smile?
