Alvon Hale Davis (1933 - 1968)

Born 25 Dec 1933 in Paicines, San Benito Co., CA

Ancestors

Died 30 Aug 1968 in Elfrida, Cochise Co., AZ

Profile manager: Connie Davis [send private message]

Profile last modified 11 Jan 2019 | Created 31 Oct 2017 | Last significant change: 11 Jan 2019

19:55: Connie Davis uploaded Davis-51236-3.jpg for Alvon Hale Davis (1933-1968).
[Thank Connie for this]

Biography

Alvon was born in 1933 in California at the home of his Aunt and Uncle, Fred and Lorraine Davis.^[1]. He was the son of Walton Davis and Edna Workman.

Alvon attended school in San Benito County. For several years the Davis family lived on 80 acres outside of Hollister (3761 Fairview Rd) and raised hogs. They moved to town in 1946. Von and his brother Les were active in 4-H, attended church camp in the Sierra Nevadas, and worked in the family business, the DeSoto dealership and garage, when they were teenagers. Von’s brother Les remembered that Von got into some trouble in high school when a classmate tried to blow up the probation officer’s car and blamed it on Von. Von and another friend broke into the high school and stole some surplus military equipment for an electronics project. They spent a couple of weeks in reform school.^[2]

Von took his cousin to his senior Prom as his date. After the dance (at about 1 AM), they woke up their grandmother, Nana, (May Hilton Davis) to go to the cottage at Capitola. Unfortunately, the car broke down during the trip and they had to wait until a garage opened to finish the trip.^[3]

Von moved to Polson, Montana with his parents in 1951 and worked on the farm.^[4]

Alvon enlisted in the Navy in 1954 and was stationed in Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alaska.^[4] When he enlisted, he discovered that his name on his birth certificate was not spelled “Alvaughn” as he had used it all of his life, but “Alvon.”^[5] He changed the way he spelled his name to match the information on his birth certificate. He met his wife while stationed in Mississippi. After their marriage in October of 1955, he was transferred to Kodiak Island in Alaska, so the young couple drove to Arizona and through California so that he could introduce relatives to his wife. He proceeded her to Kodiak. Alvon was discharged after 4 years of duty as a media specialist and trainer. Alvon and his wife lived in Arizona and Washington (Ritzville and Colfax) after his discharge, joining his father and brother in the crop-dusting business which operated in the two states. In about 1960 Von learned to fly at the Safford, AZ airport.^[4]

He was always fond of parakeets. He had become acquainted with them through a close family friend.^[4]

Alvon, his wife, and their two children moved to Colfax in 1960. Alvon maintained primary responsibility for the Washington business, and his brother Leslie oversaw the Arizona branch. During seasonal peaks in business, the Washington crew would temporarily relocate to Arizona, and at other times, the Arizona crew would travel to the Palouse country of Washington.^[4]

Alvon was a member of the Colfax Jaycees and was Vice President, State Director and President of the chapter and outstanding member in 1966. He was also a member of the volunteer fire department, IOOF, Elks and American Legion. He managed the Whitman County Airport and was instrumental in improvements there in the mid 1960's. He also demonstrated the use of crop dusting airplanes in fighting grain fires.^[6].

His other interests included hunting, fishing, camping, rock collecting, and oil painting, primarily Southwestern scenes. His daughter Connie remembers going out in the 4WD pickup exploring the hills and dry washes in southeastern Arizona. His wife would sometimes get out and walk because she couldn’t believe he could drive a vehicle where he did. Sometimes the family would borrow someone’s airplane and fly to a nearby community for breakfast or see the countryside. He also enjoyed boating and took his family rafting and boat camping. He built and refinished furniture and made toys for his children.^[4]  

In late June of 1968, Von, his wife and two of their friends flew to Phoenix to attend the national Jaycees convention. Von either rented or borrowed the plane, as he never owned a passenger plane, only crop dusting planes. After arriving in Phoenix, his wife recalled that the weather was extremely hot and Von amused the crowd by frying an egg on the pavement. On the flight home in early July, the group stopped in Las Vegas to refuel the plane and Von told the attendant to make sure he filled both tanks. As they neared Lewiston, ID, the plane ran out of fuel and Von radioed the airport to let them know he was coming in under no power. He landed the plane without incident. Letia also noted that on this trip or another, they encountered a storm and Von flew the plane at the height of the telephone poles to fly under the storm.^[4]

Von was killed in the crash of a crop-dusting plane in late August 1968 when he was 35 years old.^[7] It was a new plane and according to witnesses, he stalled the plane when trying to return to the airport in order to assist a co-worker.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Memoirs of Edna Workman Davis, written after 1980. Original held in 1994 by Davis-50681
2. ↑ “Interview with Les Davis at Davis Family Reunion,” Apr 1996, interviewed by Connie Davis, Raymond, Fresno Co., CA.
3. ↑ Susan Geffert, “Davis Kith and Kin,” Vol 1., Issue 2, January 1999, family newsletter edited by Norma Mastin and published by Phyllis Kaltenbach.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7} personal knowledge of daughter Davis-56081
5. ↑ “Alvon Hale Davis birth certificate,” 25 Dec 1933, San Benito Co., CA, 33-075046, copy held by Davis-56081.
6. ↑ “Service Set Friday for Alvon H. Davis,” Colfax Gazette, Colfax, Whitman Co., WA, Sep 1968
7. ↑ “Alvon Hale Davis death certificate,” 30 Aug 1968, Elfrida, Cochise Co., AZ, certified copy issued 16 Sep 1968, copy held by Davis-56081.

Additional Sources

• “Walton L Davis household 1940 US Census,” San Benito Co., CA, 22 Apr 1940, digital copy, downloaded 28 Oct 2012, ancestry.com, Sources folder.

• “Aviation Accident Report,” 30 Aug 1968, Elfrida, Cochise Co., AZ, LAX69F0142, Index viewed 9 Jan 2016 at ntsb.gov.

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