IN THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
A RESOLUTION expressing the sympathy of the Legislature to the family and friends of Coach Lynn Alton Davis, Jr., upon the occasion of his untimely death.
Intro
RESOLUTION # 14042, March 4, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Dan Tarwater, County Legislator
Body
WHEREAS, Coach Lynn Alton Davis, Jr., passed away early Christmas morning, Tuesday, December 25, 2001, at St. Joseph's Hospital; and,
WHEREAS, he was born to Lynn Alton Davis, Sr., and Sarah Louise (Knight) Davis on August 22, 1925; and,
WHEREAS, Coach Davis was raised in northeast and central Kansas, and embraced the values he learned while growing up in Valley Falls and Abilene: honesty, integrity, loyalty, and honor, which became the guiding principles for his life; and,
WHEREAS, he graduated from Abilene High School in 1943, served as a combat medic in General George Patton's Third Army, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and played football with the undefeated Army All Stars, travelling around Europe playing for troops who were awaiting deployment back to the United States at the end of World War II; and,
WHEREAS, Coach Davis played quarterback for the Kansas State University Wildcats while earning his degree in pre-med; and,
WHEREAS, after being accepted into medical school, he was drafted to play professional football by the then New York Titans; and,
WHEREAS, his desire to coach and teach led him to Rockhurst High School in 1952 where he served as Athletic Director until 1990 and football coach from 1952-1976, with his football teams claiming 154 victories; and,
WHEREAS, in the first seven years of the Missouri Class 4A State football competition, his Rockhurst teams took one state championship and two second place finishes; and,
WHEREAS, in 1953 he started the Rockhurst track and field program, which he coached for 17 years; and,
WHEREAS, Coach Davis spearheaded the development of the Kansas City Junior Golf Program and coached golf at Rockhurst High School from 1977 through 1990, with his teams winning a state championship and the district championship 11 out of 13 years; and,
WHEREAS, at a time of racial segregation in state high school competition, Coach Davis was the first Missouri coach to refuse the barring of black athletes at the State Track Championship; and,
WHEREAS, his other accomplishments include winning the Knute Rockne Award winner as national coach of the year three times (1954, 1971, and 1973) and induction into the Missouri Coaches Hall of Fame (1993) and Rockhurst Sports Hall of Fame (1999); and,
WHEREAS, he was preceded in death by his parents, and is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 55 years, Arlene Haslouer Davis, his children Lynn Alton Davis, III, a former Jackson County assistant prosecuting attorney, Maureen Davis, Michael Knight Davis and his wife Joyce, Jennifer Gibb and her husband Bruce, Christopher Joseph Davis and his wife Michelle, Sara Jane Holliday and her husband John, Julie Rose Hall and her husband Sterling, one brother E.G. Davis of Great Falls, Montana, 17 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren; and,
WHEREAS, one of Coach Davis' most familiar quotes was, "There's only two kinds of people in this world: good people and those who aren't good. There's no gray area in my book. Make sure you're in the first group;" now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the County Legislature of Jackson County, Missouri, that the Legislature hereby extends its deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Coach Lynn Alton Davis, Jr., upon the occasion of his untimely death.
Enacted and Approved
Effective Date: This Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage by a majority of the Legislature.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________________ ________________________________
County Counselor
Certificate of Passage
I hereby certify that the attached resolution, Resolution # 14042 of March 4, 2002 was duly passed on ___________March 4_______________, 2002 by the Jackson County Legislature. The votes thereon were as follows:
Yeas ________9___________ Nays _________0__________
Abstaining _______0________ Absent _______0___________
______________________ _________________________________
Date Mary Jo Brogoto, Clerk of Legislature