OBITUARY: Nancy Jo Davis

Nancy Jo Davis, 88, passed away Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at her home in Ozark, marking the end of a life devoted to family and community. 

She was born on Oct. 6, 1938, in St. Louis. Her parents were Randle Jasper Smith and Lelia Sherrill Smith, who adopted her. Nancy grew up in Springfield where her father practiced law. She graduated from Greenwood School on the Southwest Missouri State College campus. She spent time in Kansas City after her father was appointed in 1956 as a federal district judge. Later, she attended the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

As a girl, she participated in the Camp Fire Girls program, and spent summers on the banks of the Finley River as a camp counselor. The outdoor setting took root, blossoming into a lifelong love of flowers. 

Nancy learned resilience at a young age: Traveling to her wedding in Springfield, Missouri, her father sustained a serious heart attack. Days later, on Dec. 2, 1961, she married Robert L. Davis and moved to Houston, Missouri, where the Davis family had begun publishing the county-seat weekly newspaper, the Houston Herald, in 1946. Weeks later after the nuptials, her father passed away. He was 53. 

The couple settled into the Houston community, where their first child, Jennifer, was born. A few years later, Jeffrey arrived. Being a mother was the work Nancy valued most, and it showed in the attention she wrapped around her two children. She also found time for various retail jobs in the area, including both at florist shops that deepened her love for flowers and many years at the gift shop, The Cranberry Merchant. She also pitched in to do accounting work in the family’s cable business. In later years, Bob sent her flowers every week. 

If Nancy wasn’t working with her flowers, she was absorbed in a book. She was a voracious reader her entire life, and her home made that plain: Bookshelves lined the walls of the TV room, with more stacked neatly on the floor. Her favorite shopping destination was always Barnes & Noble.

Later in life, Nancy embarked on a project around her love of flowers, entertaining and swimming. A pool was constructed at the family’s home on Hamrick. Nancy, an avid swimmer, kept it meticulously manicured in flowers and plants, and with some encouragement, Bob tended to the upkeep of the pool. Over the years, she taught swimming lessons at the city’s pool and later at her own. She loved the experience of interacting with her children’s friends. 

Her work at the pool also expanded to years of service on the Houston Parks Board. During that time, board members worked to transform a hillside into Emmett Kelly Park in the 1970s. 

Nancy had other passions: Education and travel were important to her, and she made sure that her children experienced both. With Bob and also as a family, she went on many domestic and international adventures. 

Later, the Davis family moved to Springfield, near their doctors and the life that Nancy had enjoyed as a child. Once again, her resilience showed as she fought several illnesses, working hard to remain independent at home.

Nancy is survived by her children, Jeff and his partner, Marla Crimmins; and Jennifer and her husband, Kevin O’Donnell, both of the St. Louis area; two grandchildren, Sinclaire of Austin and Lane of Dallas; and a sister, Martha (Bob) Hawkins, North Fort Myers, Florida. She was preceded in death by her husband in March of this year and a daughter-in-law, Sydney.

Funeral services are 12:45 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, at Houston United Methodist Church. A visitation will begin at 11 a.m. The Rev. Eddie Bone will officiate. Pallbearers are Jeff Davis, Lane Davis, Kevin O’Donnell, Brad Gentry, Brad Vandiver and Jeff Edwards. A private burial will occur at Pine Lawn Cemetery, Houston. Services are entrusted to Evans Funeral Home, Houston. Send an online condolence at evansfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the Texas County Library Foundation, 191A N. First St., Houston, MO 65483.