William Kendrick Davis

Bill’s Story Bill’s ancestral journey began in Guinea-Bissau and Cameroon, Africa and ended in Bronwood, Terrell County, Georgia. There in Bronwood, Georgia on July 3,1944, Bill was born to Annie Ruth Kendrick and named William Kendrick. A few months after birth, baby William was adopted by Alonzo and Emma Davis becoming William Kendrick Davis, a new resident of Waycross, Georgia. Bill’s early years included time in “Ms Pritchard’s kindergarten”, Hazard Hill Elementary School, and daily walking several miles “across the railroad tracks” to Center High School. While in high school Bill worked in an art store and enjoyed singing in the school’s choir. Bill graduated from Center High in 1962. During the summer of 1962 Bill took a train to Washington, DC and enrolled at Howard University. After completing his first year at Howard, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army. While in the Army, he served as a medic in Korea and sang in the Army’s choir. After being honorably discharged from the Army in 1966, Bill returned to complete his education at Howard University. He was a working student at Howard and his work experiences included: distribution clerk at the U.S. Post Office, staff guard at the National Gallery of Art, and research assistant at The Library of Congress. In 1969 Bill graduated from Howard University with a B.A. degree in Political Science. In the Fall of 1969 Bill began a career with the U.S. Treasury as an inspector in the compliance division of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Bill’s 30 years’ service with ATF included different positions and posts of duty including: Jacksonville, FL, Washington, DC, New York, Charlotte, NC and finally in Atlanta as Director of Industry Operations, Atlanta Field Division, retiring in 2000. Bill and Eunice Marie Lester were married in November of 1973. While living in Jacksonville, FL (1973-1977) Bill and Eunice became the parents of a daughter (Wilkenda Mariama) and a son (Diarra Kendri). He also became a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. The family became active members of an AME church in every city in which they resided, and Bill was a dedicated choir member in all the churches. Bill was actively involved in the lives of his grandchildren. For twenty years, Bill served as a volunteer reader for the blind on Georgia Radio Reading Service. In recent years, he was a volunteer with the AARP reading program for children, and he sang with the Decatur Civic Chorus. Bill leaves to cherish wonderful, wonderful memories: wife,Eunice, son, Diarra, daughter, Wilkenda Longstreth (Richard), grands/stepgrand; Deshi, Dekhari, Ama, Ezenwanyi, Kimari, Ilana, Khalfani, Zalika, Adara, Sophia, Malcolm and Marlee ; siblings, Jeanette, Dorothy, Katie Johnson (Charles), James, Debra, and Ronnie: also, many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.. Family request in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to: www.bigbethelame.org Big Bethel A.M.E Church, 220 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303. Celebration of Life Services for William Kendrick Davis will be held on Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 12 PM. These services will be recorded and streamed live. If the event is interrupted at any time due to technical issues, the entire event will be uploaded and available to view later in the day. Please copy and paste the link to share, or simply click on the link to view the event. https://vimeo.com/event/4079539

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William Kendrick Davis

July 3, 1944 - February 5, 2024