Kenneth (Sleepy) Davis

KENNETH (SLEEPY) DAVIS

Kenneth “Sleepy” Davis passed away at the age of 75 on Sunday May 5 after battling cancer for eight months. He was born in the Hookers Bend community of Hardin County on Oct. 5, 1938, the second child of Arthur Laden and Edna Reed Davis.

He was educated in the Hardin County School System, attending Hardin County High School, where he excelled in basketball and graduated in 1958. Having earned a basketball scholarship from Union University , he pursued a Bachelor of Science degree there, graduating in 1962.

After graduation , he spent the next six years in the field of education, working in Okeechobee, Florida, and in the Hardin County area, variously as a teacher, a coach, and an elementary school principal. Then after two years as a social worker with the Tennessee Department of Human Services, he determined to run for public office.

He was elected to the office of Circuit Court Clerk of Hardin County in 1970 and went on to be re-elected a total of six times, serving for 24 years. After retiring from public office, he spent the next six years working in insurance and real estate.

He enjoyed various outdoor activities, especially working in his garden. He loved his family deeply and enjoyed spending time with his son, his two sisters, and especially sharing in the lives and activities of his two grandchildren. His church family was also very important in his life as he regularly worshiped with the Savannah Church of Christ.

Surviving are his wife, Barbara Walker Davis, of Savannah; his son, Brian (Carol) Davis of Jonesboro, Arkansas; two grandchildren – Bonnie Davis of Brentwood, Tennessee, and Michael Davis of Knoxville. He is also survived by two sisters, Jo Nell Bain of Savannah and Caroline Stricklin of Clifton, Tennessee.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Arthur Laden Davis and Edna Reed Davis; and two nieces, Teresa Jo Bain and Debbie Bain Rice.