Dorothy Gloria Hale Davis November 28, 1926 September 28, 2022 Dorothy entered this world in the small West Texas town of Roby, the only child of Iva and J.W. Hale. Her parents divorced in 1929 and she grew up a child of the Great Depression, attending school in the small community of Flower Grove in Martin County where her father, a teacher, instilled her with a lifetime love of learning. Bouncing back and forth between her parents during the school year and spending summers outside of Sweetwater on the dry-land cotton farm of T.J.(Tom) and Noma Toland, her Mother’s brother and sister-in-law, made her resilient. Though times were hard, she was surrounded with adults who loved her. In 1943, when Dorothy was 17, WWII brought big changes to her life. Her Mother got a job in a boarding house In Ft. Worth. She was to be a housemother to unmarried young girls who were moving to Ft. Worth to help with the war effort. Dorothy left her junior class of 11 students and registered for her senior year at Paschal High School whose enrollment at the time was 4000. There she adopted her middle name of Gloria. Ironically, the owners of the boarding house where her mother was working did not allow anyone under the age of 18 to live there, so Gloria was moved into a beautiful mansion called Thistle Hill which at that time served as a supervised residence for young ladies. There is a rumor that those “supervised” young ladies were accustomed to sneaking out their bedroom window and enjoying a few cigarettes on the roof. Gloria graduated from Paschal and moved on to Texas State College for Women in Denton. There she earned a B.S.in Science Education and was crowned an Aggie beauty by their “brother” school Texas A&M. After graduation, she went to work, but there were other things on her mind. A beau from Colorado City, where her father’s relatives lived, had returned from WWII. With the help of the GI Bill and a promise from J.W. Hale that no daughter of his would marry a man without a college diploma, J.C. Davis, Jr. (Diz) enrolled in TCU, earned a degree in Geology and got that diploma. They were married in a small ceremony at The Little Chapel in the Woods on the TSCW campus on December 18, 1946. The newlyweds returned to West Texas and started their family. They lived first in Colorado City, then Midland, then on a cotton farm outside Ackerly and finally they landed back in Midland where they would spend the rest of their marriage. While J.C. worked in the oil business, Dorothy ran the household and wore all the hats of an extraordinary mother. She was also the Girl Scout leader of Troop #138 where she tried to polish a rowdy group of girls who loved camping into proper ladies. In the early 1970s, J.C. and Dorothy divorced and Dorothy headed off to Austin. There she enrolled in UT and completed a certification in early childhood education so that she could teach kindergarten. She was hired by AISD and taught at Linder Elementary for the 1972-73 school year. She was the first to arrive and the last to leave the school every day, but in-the-end she conceded that twenty-five 5 year olds were a bit much for a brand new 45 year old teacher. She was worn-out and needed a new challenge. Luckily, she was about to find one. Kinsolving Dorm on the UT campus housed 800 college coeds who were away from home and needed a second Mom to help them transition to life at the large university. There was an opening for a Head Resident (Dorm Mother) in Kinsolving SW. Dorothy applied and was immediately hired. She was there to welcome new residents to the 1973 fall semester. For the next 20 years Kinsolving would be Dorothy’s home and her place of business. Dorothy’s business was enriching the lives of her residents and helping them to become the best they could be. Being conscientious and organized made her an excellent supervisor. She offered valuable insights and good suggestions to residents, peers and supervisors and could be counted on to remain calm in high pressure situations. Whether sponsoring Student Government in the dorm, planning and decorating for lavish dorm parties or mediating roommate disputes, she got the job done with enthusiasm, poise and a sense of humor. During her little spare time she attended classes and completed an undergraduate sequence in Social Work in 1975. 1980 was quite a year for Dorothy. She was awarded the University of Texas Excellence Award recognizing consistent, high level performance of university employees. She was also blessed with her first grandchild. In 1984 Dorothy was awarded the prestigious SWACUHO Distinguished Service Award by The Southwest Association of College and University Housing Officers, a professional organization made up of schools from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The glowing recommendations from her supervisors, peers and “her girls” filled up a 2″ binder, but she continued her workdays in her usual humble manner. The really big news was that her second grandson had been born! While continuing her work in Kinsolving, she began spending even more time with her family. Her widowed mother moved to Austin to be closer to Dorothy. Her grandkids were growing up. The usual family gatherings at birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas continued and were joined by family and friend campouts at the Capote Road Farm outside Seguin and fishing trips to Port Aransas. In 1993 Dorothy left her job at UT and joined the ranks of the happily retired. She read, shopped, spent more time with her family and continued quenching her hunger for knowledge at Students Older Than Average (SOTA) on the campus of UT. After calling Austin her home for more than 40 years, in the spring of 2014 Dorothy moved to Brownwood and became a resident at the Chatfield Assisted Living Facility. She gave up cooking for good and lived within 2 miles of one daughter, her son, her grandson and her 2 great-grandsons. Dorothy was poised and dignified. She possessed a quiet sense of humor and her beautiful smile could light up any room. She cherished her family and encouraged her children to be the best that they could be at whatever endeavors they chose. Everything and everyone she came in contact with was better for having known her. She was a spiritual person who spent her adult life studying comparative religions and seeking answers to the mysteries of life and death. She was widely read and very knowledgeable about state and national politics. She was proud to be a “yellow dog Democrat.” She owned four sets of fine china, but insisted that all holiday meals be served on Chinette. She didn’t eat carbs other than sweets, but she had a lifetime love affair with all things chocolate. Dorothy was preceded in death by her father, J.W. Hale; her mother, Iva Hilbun; her grandson, Todd Davis Bauchman and her son, Russell Lee Davis. She is survived by daughter Diane Davis and wife Celia Malin of Spicewood; daughter Debbie Grimsley and husband David Grimsley; grandson Trey Bauchman and wife Jenna and great-grandsons Jack and Henry Bauchman, all of Brownwood. Dorothy’s family would like to thank all the employees of the Chatfield who assisted her with kindness and caring and the residents who offered her the gift of friendship during the last years of her life. Dorothy was blessed to have the excellent care of Dr. Amy Tindol who treated her for the eight years she lived in Brownwood and took time out of her busy schedule to see her at The Chatfield in her last days. The help given by Julie McNutt and the employees of Legend Hospice was also greatly appreciated. A special thank you goes to Judy Robertson, Jeanie Mewis and Daphney Savage, the care-givers that tended to Dorothy as though she was their own mother at the end of her life. A graveside service will was held at the Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, 2800 Hancock Drive on Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to Meals on Wheels or any charity of your choice or you may simply share an act of kindness in Dorothy’s memory. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldenfuneralhome.com for the Davis family.