Funeral service held for Geneva Bell Davis

Jun. 25—Geneva Bell Davis, the first Black woman ever appointed and later elected to the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners, was remembered during her funeral service by a host of individuals whose lives she touched in various ways.

The beloved Mrs. Davis, who celebrated her 95th birthday earlier this year, died last Saturday morning at her residence. She was surrounded by members of her family.

Those attending the funeral service Wednesday morning at Trinity C.M.E. Church in Milledgeville included a number of family members, friends and dozens of elected government officials from throughout Milledgeville, Baldwin County and surrounding areas.

Apostle Tracy Wells-White of Atlanta, who officiated over the funeral service, said everyone was there to celebrate the life and legacy of Geneva Bell Davis. Wells-White called Mrs. Davis a businesswoman, entrepreneur, community advocate and friend.

"I want to give words of comfort to the family," Wells-White said, noting she was there with several family members shortly before Mrs. Davis took her last breath. "She has gone home to be with the Lord. We have not lost her. She is not lost. We know where she is. She is in the bosom of a loving Savior. So, we celebrate as the psalmist says, 'When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that shall be when we all see Jesus. What a day, what a day.'"

She said such a day would be a day of victory with singing and shouting.

Mrs. Davis enjoyed a long life and had a life well-lived, Wells-White said.

Welcoming comments were then made by Mrs. Davis granddaughters, Coutnee Gordon and Dominique Walkler, as well as her great-greatdaughters, Jayla Davis, McKenzie Hall and Payton Franklin.

A prayer was then offered by Apostle Ronald Harden of Christ Temple of Refuge in Milledgeville.

Verses from the Old Testament of Proverbs 31 were later read aloud by the Rev. J.D. Massey of High Hope Baptist Church in Macon.

Massey said, in his opinion, Mrs. Davis was much like the some of women written about in scripture. He called her a Godly woman.

"She was so beautiful, so gracious, so loving, so kind, so friendly, and so business-minded," Massey said. She was the kind of a woman that any woman would want to be like and follow.

The Rev. Donald Hill of Vaughn Chapel Church in Milledgeville said Mrs. Davis was one of his first teachers and that she had left him a lesson plan.

The lesson was about loving your enemies and blessing those who curse you and hate you.

Jon Peeler and Marilyn Jarrette later sang solos that were moving and inspirational.

Prior to Peeler singing the song "In the Garden," he made several comments about Mrs. Davis.

"I'd like to say a few words about the wonderful, beautiful sweet, sweet, sweet lady, Miss Geneva Bell Davis," Peeler said. He said there were occasions where sometimes people have to find nice things to say about a person who passes away.

"But you don't have to do that about Miss Geneva," Peeler said. "Miss Geneva was such a sweet person. And if there was anything that she could do for you, to help you, she did. I'm going to miss her. She was a pillar of the community. She was somebody you were accustomed to seeing around. We're all going to miss her."

Milledgeville Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan followed by presenting Mrs. Davis' daughter, Emily C. Davis, with a proclamation honoring her mother.

"As Rev. Massey stated when he got up and spoke earlier, who can find a more virtuous woman — none other than this lady that's lying here before us today," Parham-Copelan said.

The mayor said Mrs. Davis believed in taking care of those in need and believed in taking care of the community.

"She filled her role well," Parham-Copelan said. "And it's because of her that so many of us women are now standing and sitting in the seats that we're sitting in."

The mayor later proclaimed Wednesday, June 22, 2022, as "Geneva Bell Davis Day" in the city of Milledgeville.

Those in attendance rose to their feet with a standing ovation and applauded loudly.

"I encourage every member of this community and especially those who knew her and her family to reflect on the impact that she had by creating a successful life for herself and her family," Parham-Copelan said.

Patty James Bentley, a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, also attended the funeral service and honored Mrs. Davis with a proclamation.

"In the words of the late Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, of Morehouse College, every person born into this world can do something unique and distinctive, and if he or she doesn't do it, it would never be done," said Bentley, who represents House District 150. "Unique and distinctive work by Geneva Davis has been done. And we thank God for her life and we thank God for her legacy that will continue to live on through her children and her grandchildren here in the Milledgeville community."

Bentley later presented the Davis family with a resolution from the Georgia State House of Representatives and the Women Legislative Caucus.

The Rev. John Cheatham followed by offering words of comfort to the Davis family, and others who filled the church adjacent to Milledgeville Fire Headquarters.

"You're not going to receive a sermon today, but that doesn't mean you have to leave empty-handed," Cheatham said. "And if you do leave empty-handed, that doesn't mean empty-hearted."

Cheatham said talking about such a beloved woman as Geneva Bell Davis wasn't a burden.

Instead, he called it a privilege.

"Good stewardship is the existence that God give us," Cheatham said. "And that is a precious gift. And it leaves treasures and comforts for everybody. When a lifetime is spent being and sharing the likes of God, comfort is easy to find, because we know so many instances of people who have made the journey from cradle to grave."

Cheatham told those gathered for the funeral of Mrs. Davis that they were all there to celebrate the transition of God's beloved child.

"Yes, we mourn, but we don't mourn for her," Cheatham said. "We mourn for others" — those who are lost. "And still we have to rejoice, because Heaven is the only gain."

The preacher said Mrs. Davis was not only going to be giving a little intake class — to tell the angels how to act and quietly correcting them when they go wrong.

"The greatest comfort we're going to get today is not going to be in words," Cheatham said. "There are many words that can be said. Some words need to be said. But the comfort is not going to come from what we say today, but from what has been known for so long by so many."

Cheatham said Mrs. Davis was a sweet, strong and beautiful spirit.

"Mrs. Davis was always upbeat, whether well or sick," Cheatham said. "I never went to visit her or spoke to her with a feeling like she didn't care."

He said he believed that whatever measure of life that Mrs. Davis had she always enjoyed it to the fullest.

"And if she couldn't make three steps, she enjoyed making two," Cheatham said with a big smile.

He described Mrs. Davis as tough. And that no matter how her illness tried to bring her down, she was not going to let it take away her joy.

"Feeling bad wasn't going to take her smile," Cheatham said.

The preacher also said when Mrs. Davis had the opportunity to be of service, she seized it.

"And she made sure she did whatever was in her power," Cheatham said. "And when she had done her best, she was satisfied. But she never stopped trying to do her best. And I can truthfully say with absolute certainty that I never knew or heard of her looking at other people as them. Her perspective was one of Christian fellowship in which every soul, every brother, every sister was one of us."

He closed by saying love was within Mrs. Davis' spirit and in her living.

"Just look around at the lives she has touched," Cheatham said. "Sometimes she touched lives so gently and softly, they didn't even know it was her."

He said he would always think of Mrs. Davis as a servant-leader.

"She epitomized that a true leader is not identified by a title in front of your name, or a string of acronyms after your name," Cheatham said. "A true leader is the one that others look to. A true leader is one that others are drawn to. A servant-leader does not say you go do. A servant-leader says let's go do that. A servant-leader does not evaluate you by what you have to offer them. A servant-leader measures themselves by what they have to offer you."