Obituary of Jeannette Powell Davis

Jeannette Powell Davis died peacefully in her home on February 6, 2020. Jeanne was born in Pennsylvania in1929, daughter of Whiton and Jeannette Gardiner Powell. She grew up in Ithaca, New York, and graduated from Ithaca High School in 1945 and from Cornell University, College of Home Economics, in 1949. She was married to F. Langdon Davis, DVM, who predeceased her. They moved to Augusta in April of 1951, when he purchased the Pine Tree Veterinary Hospital on Western Avenue. Although primarily a homemaker and volunteer, she was employed during the 1970’s by the Kennebec Valley YMCA as a teacher and then director of the preschool program. Subsequently she also taught at the South Parish Nursery School for three years. She was an active volunteer, holding various positions in the following: Kennebec Girl Scout Council, Common Cause/Maine, Maine Peace Campaign (now Peace Action), Maine Council of Churches, Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ, MaineShare, Senior College at UMA and the Augusta Food Bank. She was a member and Chair of the Maine Refugee Advisory Council and assisted in the resettlement of Cambodian refugee families for many years. For this work and other volunteer endeavors she was a recipient of the Jefferson Award in 1998, selected by WCSH-TV. With her family she welcomed two AFS exchange students: Roel Menke from the Netherlands (1971-72) and Alicia Bardon from Argentina (1974-75). She traveled to Nicaragua in 1984 with Witness for Peace, and to El Salvador in 1988 with the International Refugee Accompaniment Program, returning to be a voice in opposition to U.S. military involvement in Central America. She was a fifty-year member of South Parish Congregational Church, UCC where she served in Christian Education and as a Deacon, and at the time of her death she was a member of First Congregational Church, UCC in Waterville. In addition to her parents and husband, Jeanne was predeceased by her oldest grandson, Jason Langdon Davis of Atlanta, GA and her son-in-law, R. Daryl Dumont of Augusta. Surviving are her brothers: Gardiner Powell (Betsy) of Rogers, AR, and Andrew Powell (Jeanne) of Merrimack, NH; her sister, Anne Powell of Shelburne, VT; and her children: Laurie Davis of Portland, Marcia White (Stephen) of Wyman Township, Langdon Davis (Lorna) of West Chester, OH, Peter Davis (Debora) of Readfield and Susanne Dumont of Augusta. She leaves eleven grandchildren: Samuel Davis (Kathryn) of Troy, NY, Timothy Davis Cox of Portland, Isaac White of Wyman Township, Sadie Spivak (Lee) of No. Yarmouth, Heather Shooner (Joseph) of Liberty Township, OH, Emma Davis of San Francisco, CA, Ian Davis of Princeton, NJ, Matthew Davis of Portland, Beth Dumont (Daniel Skelly) of Bar Harbor, Mallory Stevens (Jonathan) of Weymouth, MA, Joel Dumont (Gillian) of Kettering, OH, and her granddaughter-in-law Kelly Davis of Atlanta, GA. Great-grandchildren are: Levi and Audrey Shooner; Riley Davis; Jackson, Mackenzie and Zachary Stevens; Cedric and Graham Skelly; Ludo Spivak and Juliet Dumont. A memorial service will be private and at the convenience of her family. Those wishing to make a gift in her memory are invited to consider: The Children’s Center at 1 Alden Lane Augusta, ME 04330 or the Lithgow Library 45 Winthrop Street Augusta, ME 04330; or a charity of their choice.