Thomas Owen Davis

Thomas Owen Davis, 70, of Corbin, was born October 9, 1948 in Pascagoula, Mississippi.  He passed away at home on Friday, July 19, 2019, after a long battle with cancer.  He was preceded in death by his parents Albert Owen and Katie Nell Davis of Pascagoula, Mississippi.  Tom is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Donna Gatlin Davis, as well as his four children and their spouses and three grandchildren:  Laura Davis; Todd and Talia Davis; Leslie and William Goodman, their daughters Ellen and Madelyn; and Andrew and Mallory Davis and son, Lincoln.  Tom is also survived by his three sisters and their families: Gwen and James Copeland, Eve and Bob Allbritain, and Teresa Wharton, all of Wade Mississippi.  Tom was a devoted family man who will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
Tom started his 33 year career with American Greetings in Corbin after graduating from Mississippi Sate University in 1970 with a BS in Industrial Engineering.  After working five years in Corbin and then several years each in Osceola, Arkansas and Brigham City, Utah, he moved back to Corbin as plant manager in 1981. He remained in Corbin, although his job responsibilities as a Vice-President of Everyday Manufacturing for the Cleveland, Ohio based American Greetings Corporation included eight different manufacturing plants.
During his business career he served on several boards and advisory committees including the Kentucky State Chamber of Commerce, Alice Lloyd College, Southeastern Kentucky Rehabilitation Industries and others, but his main years of dedicated board service has been to what is now Baptist Health of Kentucky, both on the local hospital board and the state board in Louisville.
Tom was a Christian who loved his church congregation, First Baptist Church of Corbin, and served over 40 years as a deacon and Sunday School teacher, and committee leader.
Over the years Tom loved sports, starting with playing baseball and football in high school and coaching Little League as a young man in Corbin.  He loved golf and playing bridge, especially with the Tri-County Duplicate Bridge Club.  As an avid fan of Mississippi State football, basketball, baseball, and other sports, he spent many happy hours watching his team or reading MSU reports about them.  He also especially enjoyed watching his own children play different sports throughout their school years.
During his illness, he received excellent care at Baptist Health Corbin, Baptist Healthcare Lexington, and the Corbin Dialysis Center.  His family wishes to express gratitude to all those who served him so well.
Visitation will be Thursday evening at Vankirk-Grisell Funeral Home from 6:30 until 9:00 pm.  The funeral will be at 2:00 pm Friday, July 26 at First Baptist Church of Corbin with Rev. Austin Carty and Rev. Paul Sims officiating.  There will be a visitation period at the Church begining at 1:00 pm Friday.
Burial will follow at Pine Hill Cemetery, Corbin. Pallbearers will be Jeff Tipton, Wes Tipton, Stan Brasher, Danny Barnett, Steve Morris, Russell Allbritain, and Wesley Allbritain.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like gifts sent to the ministries of First Baptist Church of Corbin.
Messages may be sent to the Davis family at www.vankirkgrisellfuneralhome.com.