Jacquelyn "Jackie" Davis

Jacquelyn “Jackie” Davis, 82, of Morehead City, went to be with the Lord on Monday, November 8, 2021, at Carolina East Medical Center.

Her memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, November 13, at St. Andrew Episcopal Church, officiated by The Rev. Dr. John B. Pollock.  The family will receive friends following the service.

Jackie was born in 1939 to Guy and Mae Waters in Jamesville, NC. Growing up in Jamesville, Jackie developed a love of music and literature at a very young age. She attributed some of this to personal tragedy as both became emotional outlets at the age of 4 when her father passed away. Her Aunt who moved in to help with Jackie and her 4 siblings, awakened her love of the arts with her massive collection of classical books and music. She encouraged Jackie’s reading, storytelling and entrance into literacy competitions.  Jackie’s mother was an equally positive influence and lover of music. Some of Jackie’s earliest memories were spent singing jazz alongside her mother as she played piano.

The summer before high school, Jackie contracted life-threatening meningitis. After surviving, she felt compelled to help young people and began to develop a love of teaching. In 1960, she completed a BS Degree in English at East Carolina University.

Her teaching career began in 1962 at Beaufort High School in Beaufort NC, where she taught and directed the theater. She credited two colleagues, Ms. Lena Duncan and Mrs. Mildred Lawrence with shaping her teaching style in those early days. Admired most was the rapport they had with students and colleagues and the respect they did not demand but showed and received. They became her role models.

In 1963, Jackie married Gus L. Davis, an attorney in Morehead City and in 1965, accepted a position at West Carteret High School which she held for 41 years until retiring in 2002.  In 1970, she was named Head of the English Dept at West Carteret, a position she held for over 30 years. Mrs. Davis served on numerous educational committees that helped establish criteria for high school English in Carteret County still in place today. Her work with the National Honor Society was as dear to her heart as those she taught. In 1988 she was named Star Teacher of Carteret County. She received the Educational Excellence Award for Carteret County Teacher of the Year in both 1989 and 1990 and 1997 she won the Edith Stahl Outstanding Teacher Award for Carteret County.

She is best known for her role within the English Department at WCHS and has been quoted as saying, “I’ve taught everyone since Julius Caesar”. Her compassion, fabulous sense of humor and bigger than life personality drew you in. The influence she had on her students over 4 decades, both in the classroom and out, cannot be overstated. Always dressed to impress, she promoted the highest character and she modeled what she valued. She made students want to rise to their highest level even making house calls to teach Shakespeare for those that were out of school for extended periods of time.

These same students decades later describe Mrs. Davis as an “icon” and many, upon hearing her name, instinctively begin to recite the Prologue to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. This was sort of a rite of passage in AP English at West Carteret High School and if she was your teacher, you probably also were called a “ragamuffin” at one time or another.

Mrs. Davis truly loved teaching and felt it was her calling. She has been quoted with saying that teaching was her life and that she could not imagine any other vocation that could have afforded her the joy that teaching had. Her enthusiasm for her students showed and her impact on them can be felt in their shared stories.

In addition to her role in education she was an active member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church whether singing in the choir or helping chair committees. She was an active member and officer in Delta Kappa Gamma professional teaching fraternity, Surfside Garden Club and the MHC Women’s Club.

She leaves to grieve, her loving devoted husband, Gus L Davis Jr.; her beloved son, Gus L Davis III; two adored grandsons, Tyler and Cooper Davis; daughter-in-law, Tina Davis; her precious Yorkie, Caesar; sisters, Rachel Waters Craddock and Helen Waters Bass, both of Jamesville; and brothers-in-law, Louis James “Buddy” Davis and wife Pat, William John “Johnny” Davis and wife Kathy; sister-in-law, Mary Davis, widow of Peter Davis. She also leaves numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her sister, Dorothy Gentry; brother, Randy Waters; and parents, Guy Waters and Mae Waters Gardner.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in her honor to West Carteret High School. Condolences and life tributes may be sent to the family at darviris3@gmail.com or mailed to 4104 Country Club Rd Morehead City, NC 28557 as well as online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net

Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, NC.