The park and recreation community mourns the loss of John Davis, a tireless advocate and leader of our industry. Davis died January 7, 2015, at his home in Culpeper, Virginia.
Leading up to his career in the field of parks and recreation, Davis spent two years in the Navy, obtained a bachelor of science degree from South Carolina’s Furman University, served in the Korean War and obtained a master’s degree from Columbia University. After his military service, he took a job as director of recreation with the town of Darlington, South Carolina, but still dreamed of becoming a college baseball coach. Following his time at Columbia, Davis had an opportunity to fulfill that dream, but instead followed the advice of Willard “Woody” Southerland of the National Recreation Association (NRA), who convinced Davis to pursue a career in parks and recreation. Heeding that advice, Davis applied to be director of parks and recreation for the city of Dalton, Georgia. He was selected by the city and served in the position for six years. It was his work in Dalton that catapulted Davis into high prominence at the state and national level.
In 1963, Davis became the executive director of Georgia’s then-newly established Georgia Recreation Commission (GRC), where he proved adept at working with the state legislature. Operating as an independent agency for 10 years, Davis and his staff served not only the state, but provided their professional skills to municipalities and county governments as well. This resulted in the creation of more than 50 new departments of parks and recreation. In 1972, the tasks and responsibilities of the GRC were incorporated into the Department of Natural Resources. Davis became chief of recreation and park planning, where he continued to administer the work of the old GRC, in addition to several new duties.
Davis left Georgia in 1974 to fill a new position as associate director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, a job that led to executive director of the organization. He held the directorship for a short period of time until NRPA asked him to become its executive director. He accepted that invitation and began his service in 1976. When Davis began his 10-year career with NRPA, there were approximately 11,000 members — when he left, the membership topped 19,000.
Davis received many professional honors and served professional organizations in many capacities during his career. This spring, in honor of Davis’ service and commitment to the field of parks and recreation, a tree will be planted in NRPA’s Memorial Grove at its Ashburn, Virginia, headquarters.
Roger Brown served as NRPA's Southeast Regional Director and President in 1982.
“John Davis was a giant in the field of parks and recreation. During his 10-year tenure as executive director, he was a major force in accomplishing the goals of NRPA. It was a great joy to be in his presence. He was the best of the best!”
— Earl Groves, Chair, NRPA Board of Trustees, 1976-79, NRPA Life Trustee
“When I think of John Davis, it is with admiration for his leadership skills and great appreciation for his sense of humor that comes to mind. We could not have had a better person as our executive director. He was second to none in the parks and recreation field.”
— Harry G. Haskell Jr., Chair, NRPA Board of Trustees, 1980-85, NRPA Life Trustee
“I met John Davis in 1959, a few months before we drove to Chicago to attend our first national conference. John lived and breathed his love of the parks and recreation field. Telephone conversations with John could be l-o-n-g, and on more than one occasion, I have begged for a bathroom break! After retiring from his career field, John took a job with Walmart in their paint department. His wife, Joyce, confirms the story that while he was mixing paint, he would inquire about their local parks and recreation department. As he gave them their paint, he would smile and leave them with these parting words: ‘Enjoy your paint and don’t forget to support your local parks and recreation department.’”
— Roger Brown, NRPA Southeast Regional Director, NRPA President, 1982