Viva Davis

Viva Merle Davis was born to Emmett and Ellen Davis in their dwelling located behind their store in Ranchvale. NM. A few days later her mother had to travel to Texas to bury her parents and Viva was left in the care of a neighbor, Lafern Rowell.

A year after Viva was born, her brother Jack was born. Her father told her, "Your mother has a new baby, so you will be my baby now". Viva took that to heart and became her father's shadow. Once when he tried to leave her with her brothers in Clovis, he drove on down Main Street, not realizing that Viva was chasing him all the way to Citizen's Bank.

During the hard times of depression, the family lost the store and moved a mile west of the Ranchvale School into a shack that wouldn't keep out rain, sandstorms, or snakes and lizards. The family later built a home that still stands and was home to three generations during World War II. Viva helped with all the farm chores, including gathering the cows from the pasture to milk them.

Viva suffered many illnesses in her early life, but over-came them to become a healthy, athletic individual. One of her proudest memories was when J.C. Miller forgot to pick her up for a basketball game and she had to walk a mile from her house to get to the gymnasium. When she walked into the gym the crowd thundered with applause that their star player had arrived to help bring her team from behind to win the game. Other sports at which she excelled included Softball, bowling, and roller skating.

Viva worked for many years at Farmer's Electric and later at First Federal Savings and Loan, where she was both a teller and the bookkeeper in charge of the first giant dinosaur computer in Clovis. It was a temperamental monster that often kept her working late into the night before it would process the big stack of punched cards. Viva loved being a farm girl and continued to show up every year for harvest to drive a grain truck to the elevator. She did her own housework and even continued to mow her lawn until she fell and broke her arm in the summer of 2015. That injury sent her to the hospital and then to the Retirement Ranch where she spent the rest of her life.

Viva was dedicated to her church, first the Ranchvale Methodist Church and then Kingswood United Methodist Church, where she helped with bookkeeping and treasurer responsibilities and also carried out a mission of visiting shut-ins, and hospital patients. She also photographed many church events and weddings.

Viva was preceded in death by her mother and father and all of her sisters and brothers except for Jack Davis, who lives in Roswell, NM. (Sisters- Christine & Lorene, Brothers - Loran, Verlon, and Pete) Having no children of her own she worked hard at spoiling other people's children, especially her nieces and nephews, Kenneth and Irene Davis, Jacaleen and Larry Davis, Barbara and Bob Davis, Dave, Bob. and Linda Shoup. She is also survived by another generation of great-nieces and nephews, (Jennifer and Jessica - children of Jacaleen Davis, Robbie. K.C. and Bonnie - children of Bob and Irene Jones, Ananda, Larkin, and Ben - children of Linda Shoup, (Edward and Michael -children of Bob & Liz Shoup, and Bo and Stacy - children of Gene and Barbara Thornton)

Services will be at Kingswood United Methodist Church in Clovis Thursday, October 8th, at 2:00p.m. With Pastor Layloni Drake officiating.

Pallbearers will be Kenneth Davis, Larry Davis, Bob Jones, Doug Reid, Duane Miller, and Rocky Williams. Honorary pallbearers will be the waitresses at Cook's Cafe, who always greeted her with smiles and big hugs when Kenneth brought her to breakfast every Saturday morning and on other events, including giving her a birthday party.


Services are under the care and direction of Steed-Todd Funeral Home & Crematory, 800 E. Manana Blvd. Clovis, New Mexico (575) 763-5541. You may sign the online guest registry at www.steedtodd.com.

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