Joseph Davis

Joseph E. Davis, SR., 86, of Danville passed away at 7:25a.m., Monday, December 29, 2008 at Colonial Manor Nursing Home. He was born May 16, 1922 in West Lebanon, IN, the son of George W. and Edna A. (Anderson) Davis. He married Doris I. Kroll on September 23, 1949 in Danville. She survives. Other survivors include one son, Joseph E. Davis, JR. of Danville, and one sister, Glendora Burmiester of Florida, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and eight brothers, Russell, Richard, Gerald, Bob, Stanley, Lloyd, Earl, and James, and one sister Marjorie Ellis. Joe played independent basketball and baseball. He entered the United States Navy at Great Lakes in July of 1942. Joe served in the Southwest Pacific in the New Guinea Campaign. He was assigned to the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-191. He helped make the action shots of the movie They Were Expendable with John Wayne and Ward Bond. He was discharged from the navy in December 1945. Joe was on the Danville Fire Department for twenty 27 years, retiring as a LT at Station #4. He also worked for the Danville Veterans Administration Medical Center for 10 Years, retiring in 1984, as Fire Protection Inspector. Joe Boy will be sadly missed by Momma and Shorty. A celebration of life for Joseph E. Davis, SR., will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, January 2, 2009 at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 3940 N. Vermilion, St., with Chaplain Lael Dixon officiating. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Park. Visitation will be held from 4:00p.m.-7:00p.m. Thursday, January 1, 2008 at the funeral home. Memorials may be made in Joes name to the Vermilion County War Museum. E-mail condolences may be sent to the family at www.sunsetfuneralhome.com