A graveside service for Daniel William Davis Jr., M.D., 85, will be held 3:00 p.m. Friday, April 20, 2012, in the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Dr. Davis died Wednesday, April 18, 2012, at home with his family. He was born August 5, 1926, in Greenville, S.C., to the late Daniel William Davis Sr. and Sadie Holcombe Davis. A graduate of Dreher High School, The Citadel, and Duke University Medical School, Dan was chief surgical resident at Cornell Hospital in New York, and earned board certification in thoracic, vascular and general surgery. He was one of the early pioneers who fought to bring new medical technology and advancements in surgery to Columbia, including open heart surgery. He served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict and practiced general, thoracic, and cardiovascular surgery in Columbia for 48 years. He saved, touched, and extended countless lives. Dan was a uniquely talented physician, and he was one of South Carolina’s most aggressive and prolific surgeons in a career that spanned well into his seventies. Dan commonly made the impossible seem possible; in fact, he achieved all of this despite a childhood accident that left him with limited vision in one eye. A sportsman extraordinaire, the people of Columbia raised money to send him to the National Archery Competition on the West Coast, when he was only 13. He was a legendary marksman, equally adept with a bow, rifle and shotgun. He loved the outdoors and pursued ducks, hogs and deer with great vigor. He was an avid sports fisherman, spending thousands of hours in the gulfstream, at the helm of his vessel with blatant disregard to weather forecasts and sea conditions. He loved his family fiercely. He is survived by his wife, Carla Donen Davis; his children, Daniel (Chipper) William Davis III, Nancy Douglas Davis Dempsey (David), Myles Donen Davis (Alison), Donen Davis (Sheila), Mark David Davis, Daniel Donen Davis; and his grandchildren, Davis Dominic Dempsey, Andrew Warren Dempsey, Griffin Michael Davis, Donen Finn Davis, Joshua Alderson Davis, Harrison Daniel Davis, Lindsey Louise Davis, and Emma Grice Davis. He was predeceased by his parents, and his grandson, David Philip Dempsey Jr. The family would like to recognize the wonderful caregivers who helped make Dan’s life so comfortable toward the end: Adzrinne Atkins Washington, Betty Singleton, Mabel Dozier, Dale Robinson, Reginald Dozier and Jeannie Rice. Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice . The family encourages all who loved Dan to do as he did and enjoy life to the fullest, especially in the great outdoors he loved so much. Tags: 1945
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