Flora “Flo” Marlow Davis

A memorial service for Flora “Flo” Marlow Davis, of Clifton, will be held at Clifton Funeral Home Chapel on Friday, July 30, at 2 p.m., with the Rev. Clint Schofield of Clifton’s First Presbyterian Church officiating.  Mrs. Davis died on Friday, July 23, 2021, in Clifton following a brief illness.  She was 99.  Her ashes will be interred at a future date alongside those of her late husband, Col. Frank B. Davis, at Arlington National Cemetery.

Flora Alberta Marlow was born October 19, 1921, in East St. Louis, Illinois.  She was the eldest of two children born to William and Leona (Dewey) Marlow.  She was orphaned as a child and she and her younger brother, Harold, were raised by their maternal grandmother, Anna Dewey, at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. 

Flora was married at Phenix City, Alabama on April 5, 1941, to Frank Brownie Davis, a soldier with the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia.  Thus began her life as a military wife while her husband’s 34-year career spanned World War II through Vietnam and took them across the country and around the world.  The officer’s wife made a lovely home and hostess for all who visited their family, which grew to include three children, Randy Dale in 1945, Cheryll Ann in 1947, and Troy Allen in 1961.  In addition to Fort Benning, the family also lived in Kansas, New Jersey, Oregon and Dale City, Virginia, during her husband’s work at the Pentagon, Fort Knox, Kentucky; Long Island, New York; and three different locations while stationed in Germany where the children attended schools. 

Following her husband’s retirement in 1973, the couple settled in Seffner, Florida.  There they enjoyed swimming and growing orchids and staghorn ferns at their home northeast of Tampa.  Flora was a wonderful cook who enjoyed baking.  She was noted as a skilled seamstress, particularly her embroidery and hand work.  She also developed a love for ceramics and had kilns in both her Florida and Texas homes where she made exquisite pieces she gifted to friends and family, especially Christmas trees and Nativities. 

Following the death of her husband in 1986, Flora lived an additional 19 years in Florida before relocating to Texas in 2005.  In Clifton she remained active until the past few years of her life.  She kept her yard well into her 90s, read several books a week, sewed, crafted, cooked for family and friends, worked on her ceramics up until the past few months of her life, and was active as a volunteer within the Clifton community.   She worked as a docent for the Bosque Museum, was a volunteer with the Bosque Arts Center, with a special interest in the Quilt Guild and Culinary Club.  She worked with the Clifton Food Bank, Clothes Closet, and Meals on Wheels.  She was also active in a local quilting club where she made many friends.  Flora was a lifelong Methodist, with her last membership being in Florida, where she kept the church nursery.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 45 years, Col. Frank B. Davis on April 22, 1986; her brother, Harold E. Marlow, in 2012; and grandson, Anthony Dunbar, in 2019.  She is survived by her three children and their spouses, Randy and Dianne Davis of Cary, North Carolina, Cheryll and Richard Lundberg of Clifton, and Troy and Kim Davis of Angier, North Carolina.  Also left to cherish her memory are 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren who affectionately called her “Grunnie,” her devoted caregiver of seven years, Norma Guerrero, and a host of extended family, neighbors, and friends from a long and blessed life.

In lieu of flowers, the family has designated memorials to the Bosque Arts Center Quilt Show, PO Box 373, Clifton, TX 76634.