Dorothy "Papandrea" Davis

Dorothy "Papandrea" Davis, the youngest of 10 children, was the last surviving sibling of the Papandrea family. She was the daughter of Rosario and Fortunato Papandrea born on October 27, 1929 in Chicago, Cook, IL.  She married Arthur Jacob Davis Jr on March 22, 1953. Dorothy leaves behind 6 children: Arthur (Elia) Davis, Deborah (John) Johnson, Tenia "Tina" (Paul) Garvin, Dexter (Yolanda) Davis, Denise (James) Brown, and David (Leticia) Davis; 11 grandchildren Darlene Davis, Jasonomarr (Anna "Ania") Johnson; Angela (Bradley) Barnhart; Lorraine Hughes, Jason West, Janelle Davis, Steven Pugh, April Yrigollen, Chantal Davis, Cameron Garvin, and Garret Garvin; 8 great-grandchildren Dezhanae Richardson, Isaiah Richardson, Mia Sophie Johnson, Hanna "Hania" Lynne Johnson, Remy Valentine Barnhart, Rohe Steryous Barnhart, Mila Garvin, and Titus Garvin.

Memories of Mom.

One of the most important memories of mom is that she brought each and every one of her 6 children into this world and did her best to instill in all of us good morals and values to live our lives by.

She learned the truth from her mother and dedicated her life to Jehovah while living in Hawaii. Her love for Jehovah was manifested by her always looking for opportunities to speak to people about Jehovah no matter where she was. When nurses came to visit her she used this as her personal territory. She also had the drive to auxiliary pioneer from time-to-time. She always said that pioneering was the best time in her life.

Our parents loved having company and entertaining the friends. We had the privilege of having several of the circuit overseers and his wives stay in her home when they came to visit our congregation. Our mom did her best to make them feel comfortable and welcomed.

Mom was also very hospitable and made herself available for the friends for making meals for the sick including our neighbors to running errands and cleaning the homes for the elderly. This hospitality rubbed off on all of us in that we all do our best on showing hospitality to others. Some of my fondest memories of her cooking was her tasty spaghetti, homemade Italian sausage and her Italian chicken, which we all enjoyed immensely.

Coming from a poor immigrant family she instilled in each of us the importance of being frugal and not being wasteful.

From very early on mom really enjoyed sewing. It was her number “1” hobby and passion. Over the years she sewed so many outfits, stuffed animals and dolls for her grandchildren. She even completed a raggedy Ann and Andy. She continued her sewing and teaching others to sew right up to her death.

Another fond memory, when any of her children were sick, is that she would do her best to make us feel better by bring us special treats to coloring books. Even though we were feeling miserable those special treats seemed to make us feel better.

When she first became a grandmother she was so thrilled that she couldn't wait to see her grandson. As she would be driving to see him she would always say: “Don't go to sleep Jason Grandma is coming.” And as time went by she reminded Jason of this and how much she looked forward to seeing him. She truly loved being a grandmother and cherished her time with her grandchildren.

Mom loved to fish with our dad and many times she would take his pole in order to reel in the fish. She always looked forward to the campsite fish frys. And when any of us would visit we would all get to enjoy the fish of the day. Our parents loved traveling in their RV visiting many places in the United States. This seemed to bring our parents much joy, as well as having any of her children and grandchildren along for the ride. Mom loved playing cards and backgammon with our dad as well as with family and friends with occasional cheating which always kept us on our toes. She felt close to and loved all the brothers and sisters in the Speedway congregation and as well as the time she spent with her caregiver Louise.

In the end mom loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and cherished her time with all of us. She will be missed and we look forward to the day that Jehovah will resurrect her in perfect health. Love you mom.

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