Ronald Eugene “Rashad” Davis, 69, son of the late Walter Virgil Davis Sr. and Mary Lucille (Oliver) Davis was born on January 5, 1951 in Huntsville, MO, of Randolph County. He passed away on Friday, November 20, 2020 surrounded by his daughter, Denise; brother, David and good friend, Shirley at Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas, NV.
He attended the Lincoln School of Huntsville and graduated from Westran High School. As a child, Ronald, or as his mother affectionately called him, “Ronnie Gene” was a normal child. He was very close to his mother but he seemed to like the nickname “Bad Little Ronnie Gene”, which he picked and nicknamed himself!
After high school, he enlisted in to the U.S. Army in 1971 and served his country during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the medal for National Defense Service, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. After he was honorably discharged from the Army, Ronald relocated to Phoenix with his girlfriend, Anita Williams and their baby girl, Denise Shawntel Williams where they lived for several years. Ronald also received a new nickname from his brother Walter, as “Cool Breeze”. He said this name came about because Ronald always had a certain way of doing things. He was always cool and smooth in the way he got it done, right til’ the very end. Ronald was a selfless man who loved spoiling and taking care of his mother. Calling her every Saturday at 11:00 a.m. to see how her week had gone and he was always letting her know that “Lutie is a Cutie”. Ronald was known for being encouraging and showing support to his sisters, brothers, children, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and all his family and friends. He always tried to see the positive in every situation, to help counter the negative that we all face in day to day life. He would always say “if you fail to plan then you plan to fail”.
Ronald loved and was so very proud of his grandchildren, Devanie and Darius Clayborne. He loved spending time with them and enforcing how important education was for their future, and going for their dreams. He was very proud of his daughter, Denise for graduating from nursing school, and granddaughter, Devanie for graduating from Arizona State University. He also cared for his longtime friend and the mother of their son together, Shirley Coleman and his brother, David who lived with him in Las Vegas.
Ronald attended Church of God in Christ in Huntsville, MO as a youth and he made it a point, that whenever in Phoenix, to enjoy hearing the word of God and attending service at his cousin’s church, New Jerusalem Baptist Church with Reverend Thomas Davis. Ronald had a personal relationship with God, and never strayed from his roots of what his mother and father helped instill in him about his beliefs.
In his free time, he enjoyed following sports, writing and authoring a book titled “Brainwashed by The N-Word”. His newest hobby was a video blog that he started on Facebook, where he would speak about the process on how to seek and become positive images for African Americans.
Ronald Davis was preceded in death by his only son, Khatiran Dawah Mahdi on March 1, 2009, he was only 31 years old; his father, Walter Virgil Davis Sr in February of 1998; his mother, Mary Lucille in May of 2017 and recently his older sister, Mary E. McClain in October of 2020.
He leaves his daughter, Denise Williams, of Phoenix, AZ; siblings, Walter Davis (Alfreda) of Huntsville, MO, David Davis of Las Vegas, NV, Constance Thornton (Robert) of Columbia, MO and Christopher Davis (Kennetha Jackson) of Tucson, AZ; grandchildren, Devanie and Darius Clayborne of Phoenix, AZ and many nieces, nephews, cousins, family and friends; all who loved and dearly respected him dearly. He will truly be missed! Ronald Eugene “Rashad” Davis always stated as he would reflect on his life growing up, “I had a good life”.
A celebration of life for Ronald Eugene Davis will be held Saturday December 5, 2020 at 12:00 noon at Pathway Memorial Funeral Home, 411 Union Ave., Moberly, MO. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until the time of service.
For those attending, we kindly ask that everyone please wear your mask and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Due to the pandemic of Covid 19, there will not be a public repass. The family would like to express their sincere thanks and appreciation for the well wishes, cards, letters, prayers and donations.