1. April 5, 1915 - May 17, 2016
The Rev.
Joel Kelly Davis
April 5, 1915 - May 17, 2016
The Rev.
Joel KellyFounder & Pastor Emeritus Grace Missionary Baptist Church
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2. Celebrating the life of
The Rev.Joel Kelly DavisApril 5, 1915 - May 17, 2016
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church
5500 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., St. Louis, MO 63112
Rev. Michael Jones, Pastor
Family Processional/Hymn Medley
Musical Selection Friendly Temple Choir
Old Testament Scripture Rev. Ronald L. Bobo, Pastor, West Side M.B. Church
New Testament Scripture Rev. Carlton Caldwell, Pastor, Galilee M.B. Church
Prayer of Comfort Rev. Emmanuel Searcy, Second New Mount Zion M.B. Church
Musical Selection Mass Choir
Solo Zella Jackson Price
Condolences/Acknowledgements Friendly Temple, Grace Baptist, Midwestern, Divinity
Proclamations
Special Remarks (3 minutes, please)
Union District Rev. Theodore R. Williams, Jr., Moderator
Berean District Rev. Keith Pendleton, Moderator
Antioch District Rev. Donald Ray McNeil, Moderator
Philadelphia District Rev. Ralph Jackson, Moderator
Minister’s Union of St. Louis Rev. Oliver K. Patterson, President
Missouri State Convention Rev. Dr. Jimmy L Brown, Pastor, St. Luke M.B. Church
President, Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri
Solo Faith, Jeannette Olivia Brooks, Daughter
Special Remarks (3 minutes, please) Caretaker - Missouri Veteran’s Home
Friend - Rev. Lewis Jenkins, Pastor
New Morning Star M.B Church
Family Member - Marian Whiteside, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Reading of Obituary Soft Music
Video Presentation
Reflections of My Father Rev. Jonathan K Davis, Pastor, Grace M.B. Church
My Mentor, My Friend
Musical Selection Amazing Grace, Zella Jackson Price
The Eulogy Pastor Michael Jones, Friendly Temple M.B. Church
Parting View
Benediction/Recessional
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3. “I
was born to preach,” Rev.
Davis said in a 2001
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
profile. “You can ask my brother.
He said when we were young
and the chickens would die, I
would preach their funerals.”
Rev. Davis lived through six major U.S.
wars, the Great Depression, the landing of a man on
the moon and he saw the inauguration of 17 presi-
dents, including the first African-American presi-
dent, Barack Hussein Obama. He did not squander
that long life – he relentlessly spread the gospel
with energy and urgency for almost one hundred
years.
He took to the pulpit in the 1950s when the pastor
of Central Baptist Church, the late Rev. Thomas E.
Huntley, gave him a chance to preach. A few years
later, he was ordained by Rev. Huntley, a man who
knew Martin Luther King, Jr. personally and whom
Rev. Davis called his “spiritual father.”
Over the years, he also attended
Southern Mission M.B. Church and
Mount Zion M.B. Church, but Rev.
Davis, a born leader, wanted to
shepherd his own congregation.
So with his wife Juanita, whom
he met at Central Baptist by his
side, he founded Grace Missionary
Baptist Church at Twenty-Second
and Cole streets in 1956. In a parade
that stretched for blocks, the church
moved to 2323 Cass Avenue in 1960, and then to
its current location at 2319 Cass a few years later.
For 48 years, he pastored historic Grace Missionary
Baptist Church, which is now pastored by his son,
Rev. Jonathan Davis,
Dispensing Grace
At first, the church was in the midst of a bustling
community, across the street from the brand new
Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex. Before it was
Grace, the location was Keller’s Market. After the
store was bombed and looted – in retaliation for the
murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. – police called Rev.
Davis to the burning building to coax and escort
the store’s owner, Mr. Keller, out through the angry
crowd to safety. Mr. Keller soon sold the store to
Rev. Davis and never returned.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch photo 2001
Rev. Davis hired children – his own and others from
the neighborhood – to scrub the black soot from
the cinderblock walls to create a holy place. At the
end of each day, the children lined up as Rev. Davis
doled out their payment for their day’s work. Other
ministers also helped him convert the burned out
store into a church. Prominent businesses donated
building supplies and security.
Grace Baptist rose from the ashes to become not
only a church, but a neigh-
borhood haven. From its
doors, Rev. Davis fed
bellies. minds and
souls amd he was
fearless in his com-
mitment to bring-
ing souls to Christ.
He went wherever
God sent him – in-
cluding Pruitt Igoe,
even after it became
a place many feared.
“I was just doing the
Lord’s work and knew he
would protect us,” Rev. Davis
said. He knew everybody and talked to everybody.
That included most of the gangsters, like the ones
who once shot through the church doors and the
thieves who rammed the back of the church to gain
entry.
Members not close enough to walk to Grace, he
picked up in the church’s green and white Volkswa-
gen van. That same bus was used to bring in goods
for the church’s food pantry, to take food to elderly
people and to give rides to people looking for work.
But no one got to their destination quickly: Rev. Da-
vis was known as “Rev. Lightfoot” for his penchant
for driving well below the speed limit.
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4. The food and help he dispensed was often accom-
panied by a “sermonette,” just a quick Word of the
Lord because Rev. Davis was a man on the move.
His work in the community earned him a spot on
the advisory board of directors of Tillie’s Corner,
Inc., as well as the Human Development Corpo-
ration’s Neighborhood Advisory Council – and a
permanent place in the hearts of thousands.
In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Reverend and Sis-
ter Davis hosted
a weekly Sunday
broadcast on Radio
KATZ 1600 called
“Moments with
Grace.” Sister
Davis’s beautiful
voice resounded
each week:
“Designed to…
inspire you to
day by day increase your
faith in God.” Each week she would dedicate the
program to a different set of listeners, often includ-
ing her children to their listening delight.
The Assignment
Joel Kelly Davis, who took the surname of his
stepfather, was the son of Emma Vincent
Jackson and Paul Kelly, a prosperous Ar-
kansas cotton farmer. He was born April
5, 1915, in Monroe County, Arkansas in
the town of Clarendon, where he picked
his share of cotton. He was baptized
in a lake when he was 11. The
following year, he came to St.
Louis, where his mother had
moved earlier.
As a young boy, he attended
Bethlehem Elementary
School in Clarendon. After ar-
riving in St. Louis, he attended
Lincoln Elementary
and Vashon High schools, as well
as Hubbard Business College. He later took divinity
classes provided by Western Bible Extension College
at Central Baptist.
Rev. Davis didn’t like to talk much about his early
life in the country, but, in a way, he sang about it all
the time. “Little Wooden Church on the Hill” was his
signature song.
It was in my childhood,
many years ago, with
the spirit of the Savior I
was filled, at an old-
fashion meeting, my
memory lingers still, in
that little old wooden
church, way out on the
hill.
But Clarendon was the
past. At 19, Rev. Davis
put down stakes in the
heart of the city, open-
ing Snappy System, a
downtown sandwich
shop. He soon gave up
the restaurant business
in favor of a steady job
as a porter and foreman
at Emerson Electric.
In between, he had
myriad jobs. For a
time, he was the nicest bill collector in the history
of Wellston Loan and other loan companies; he
often reluctantly collected money from people he
knew. He sold women’s stockings and dresses, was
a waiter and an elevator operator, and he did brief
stints at Hubbard Business College, Valhalla Cem-
etery, the YMCA and the Mark Building. He sold real
estate, and for a long time, he had a side job as a
photographer. He had his own darkroom, where
he developed the pictures he took of weddings
and other special occasions.
Rev. Davis served as a hospital corpsman in the
U.S. Navy. He received three promotions in three
months, and was honorably discharged after 18
months as a seaman third class.
He held positions as supply technician and shop
steward at Emerson Electric, where he worked for
10 years. He retired after 38 years from the U.S.
Troop Support Command in 1981.
“Retirement,” simply meant more time for what Rev.
Davis called “his assignment:” preaching.
Feeding his flock was his passion. However, in Feb-
ruary of 2005, Rev. Davis became Pastor Emeritus,
passing the torch to his son, Rev. Jonathan Davis.
He was then able to visit the churches of his fellow
clergy on a regular basis, still spreading the gospel
wherever he went. He was a proud member of
In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Reverend and Sis
broadcast on Radio
day by day increase your
faith in God.” Each week she would dedicate the
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5. Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church where
his friend the Rev. Michael Jones is pastor. Rev. Davis
was also great friends with the grandfather of Pas-
tor Jones, the Rev. R.F. Davis, founder of
Friendly Temple.
Say Hallelujah!
“On assignment” or not, Rev. Davis
usually wore a suit, silk tie with
a matching pocket square and his
trademark fedora. His wife chose his
wardrobe, causing some to suggest that
he was henpecked. He denied it. “But it’s all right
to be henpecked,” he’d laugh, “if you like the hen
that’s pecking you.”
That was always his manner: humor with a mes-
sage. But he was also a man quick to reveal his
heart. That earned him the nickname “Jeremiah,” for
the “weeping prophet,” because, said his daughter
Bernadette, “he would cry at the drop of a hat.”
The fearlessness he displayed as a young husband,
father and minister never
abated. Nearing 80, he
donned pads and joined
the children’s party at
Skate King skating rink.
He stayed upright long
enough to prove he could
do this as he did so many
other things, like singing.
Not as well as his wife,
his “Sweeta Nita,” but he
would surely sing. Oratory,
however, was his gift and
in his youth he would elo-
quently introduce quartets,
making him sort of the “Kirk Franklin” of his day.
Rev. Davis was often lauded for the amazing mind
that made him a shrewd businessman and a check-
ers master. He loved ice cream, peaches and Lorna
Doones, horseback riding and Cardinals baseball.
But next to the Lord, what he loved most was his
family, few of whom could ever keep up with him.
He even had a lyric for his legendary energy level:
“I will not slow down. I’m going to sail until I fail;
I’m going to shop until I drop; I’m going to go until I
blow. And when I can get to heaven and count to 11,
well then I’ll say, ‘hallelujah!’”
I’m going to shop until I drop; I’m going to go until I
blow. And when I can get to heaven and count to 11,
well then I’ll say, ‘hallelujah!’”
He even had a lyric for his legendary energy level:
“I will not slow down. I’m going to sail until I fail;
I’m going to shop until I drop; I’m going to go until I
But next to the Lord, what he loved most was his
family, few of whom could ever keep up with him.
that made him a shrewd businessman and a check-
ers master. He loved ice cream, peaches and Lorna
Doones, horseback riding and Cardinals baseball.
But next to the Lord, what he loved most was his
making him sort of the “Kirk Franklin” of his day.
Rev. Davis was often lauded for the amazing mind
that made him a shrewd businessman and a check
in his youth he would elo-
quently introduce quartets,
making him sort of the “Kirk Franklin” of his day.
would surely sing. Oratory,
however, was his gift and
Last Mile of the Way
Rev. Davis was the oldest living active
minister in the St. Louis area, but he
now has a God-imposed stillness. As
he would sing, “I have gone the last
mile of the way, I shall rest at the
close of the day, for I know there are
joys that await me, when I’ve gone
the last mile of the way.”
In addition to his parents, Rev. Davis
was preceded in death by seven sib-
lings, T.C. Kelly, Ehrman Davis, Charlie
Mae Phillips, Delarcey Davis, Myrtle
McGhee, Paul W. Kelly and Willie Kelly.
He will be lovingly remembered and forever
mourned by his children, Vivian (Jerry) Ransburg of
St. Louis, daughter from the 10-year marriage of Joel
and Althlee (deceased); Annette Rogers of St. Louis,
Claudette Carawan of Houston, Joel Kelly (Kharye)
Davis Jr. of Daufuskie Island, S.C.., Bernadette (Brad-
ley) Jones of St. Louis,, Jeanette (Joseph) Brooks of
Conyers, GA; Jacquelyn Sherrod of Greenville, S.C.,
Jonathan (Felicia) Davis of St. Louis, Juanita (Tom)
Krasovic of San Diego and Juan C. (Sybil) Davis of
Washington, D.C.
Rev. Davis will always be in the hearts of his surviv-
ing sisters, Arwilda (Cleotis) Whiteside, Whitehall,
AR, and Claudine LaViolette, Alma Grace (Joseph)
Tate and Naomi Isby, all of Detroit.
He had 26 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
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7. T he prayers of a righteous
man availeth much. James 5:16
We are eternally grateful for the friendship, love and
patience you have all shown our father in life and for
the loving kindness and care you have shown us dur-
ing this difficult time. As we cherish memories of him,
please pray that our journey be peaceful.
As Dad would say, “Keep the Faith!”
The Family of
Pastor Emeritus Joel Kelly Davis
PallbearersJuan C. Davis James Gwinn, Jr.
Joshua Davis Jonathan Davis, Jr.
Jayson Sherrod Jeremy Davis
Jomiah Jones Edward Wingo, Jr.
Ricky Kelly
Honorary PallbearersJoel Kelly Davis, Jr. Rev. Jonathan K. Davis, Sr.
Juan C Davis Jerry Ransberg
Joseph Brooks Tom Krasovic
Tommy Calvin
IntermentMonday, May 23, 2016
Jefferson Barracks
Leaving Friendly Temple at 9 a.m.
RepastFriendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church
Immediately following interment
Services
Services entrusted to Wade Funeral Home
Serviced by Aaron C. Grimes
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