Charles Lee Davis, 27 Dec 1936 - 29 Mar 2024

DAVIS, BOEGE, BAKKER, FITZWATER, WRAGE, DORMAN, PATTERSON, WILSON, BICKNESE, BETHER, COOPER, STENE

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 4/4/2024 at 14:19:43

Charles Lee Davis, 87, of Shellsburg, Iowa, passed away on Friday, March 29, 2024 at the Hemphill Hospice Unit at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, due to Alzheimer’s disease.

Charles was born on December 27, 1936 to Howard and Lois (Boege) Davis in Clemons, Iowa, the second of seven children. After graduating from Grundy Center High School in 1955, he joined the United States Air Force in 1956 and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for 2 years.

Chuck studied at Iowa State University and at the University of Iowa College of Law. After graduating in 1965, he worked for the Federal Land Bank Association (Farm Credit Association) in Sheldon, Iowa and in St. Louis, Missouri, and then settled in Cedar Rapids as both bank president and land appraiser until he retired in 1995.

Chuck married Sharon Bakker of Grundy Center in 1961 and they parented three children: Daniel, Karla, and Susan. They later divorced. Chuck married Delores Fitzwater in 1990, and they moved to a farm near Shellsburg. They were members of the Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids.

Chuck loved farming his land and working alongside his renters. He installed thousands of feet of field tile in area farms, and built large sheds on his farm for his boat storage business. He enjoyed antique tractors, both restoring them and riding in tractorcades.

Chuck had an enduring love for the outdoors. In his younger years he ran long-distance races, played tennis and rode in RAGBRAI. His fascination with animals centered on horses, which he raised, broke, and trained to drive his restored buggies and sleigh. For many years he enjoyed hunting, trapping, and doing taxidermy with his deer, pheasants and owls. He collected deer antlers and (empty) hornets nests, and built dozens of bird houses. Chuck took great interest in all kinds of birds, and as an expert on owls, he gave presentations to area groups.

Chuck was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Kenneth (as a child) and Keith, and brothers-in-law, Everett Wrage and Robert Dorman. He is survived by his wife Delores; his sisters Doris Wrage of Marshalltown, Iowa, Mary Dorman of Port Orange, Florida, Carol (Dan) Patterson of Marengo, Iowa, and Jane (Brent) Wilson of Grundy Center, Iowa; sister-in-law, Ardath Davis of Marengo; his children Dan (Janice) Davis of Tupelo, Mississippi, Karla (Aaron) Bicknese of Hawkeye, Iowa, and Susie Bether of Escondido, California; his grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Shane (Christine) Davis and their 5 children Eli, Annaliese, Griffin, Lily and Sven; Laura (Alan) Cooper and their 3 children Wesley, Ethan and Athena; Joshua (Hannah) Bicknese and their son William; Emily (Tom) Stene and their 3 children Esther, Susanna and Rachel; Jeremiah Bicknese, Gloria Bicknese; Rosanna Bether, Curtis Bether, and Valerie Bether.

Services will be held at Murdoch Funeral Home in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, April 30 at 11:00 a.m. with a visitation time with the family starting at 10 a.m. All are invited to a fellowship time and lunch after the service.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or an organization of your choice.

The family would like to extend special thanks to the staff at St. Luke’s One West and Hemphill Hospice for their loving care of Chuck.

Published in The Gazette on April 2, 2024.