Nancy Davis

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, April 8, at the First Presbyterian Church in Artesia, N.M. for longtime Artesia resident Nancy Yapp Knorr Davis of Roswell, N.M. Mrs. Davis, 89, died Monday morning, April 5, 2004 in Roswell. The Rev. Dr. C.H. Burroughs and the Rev. Bo Lewis will officiate. Cremation has taken place. Interment will be in the First Presbyterian Church Columbarium. Nancy Yapp was born January 20, 1915, in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to Leon and Iva Allen Yapp. She graduated from Ft. Wayne Southside High School in 1933, and received an associates degree from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. in 1935. Miss Yapp married John W. Knorr, Jr. in Ft. Wayne on December 20, 1939. They moved to Artesia in 1948 where they owned and operated Jack Knorr General Contractor, a construction company, until Mr. Knorrs death in 1958. On October 15, 1960 Nancy and Verlon Davis of Artesia were married in Santa Fe. They lived in Artesia until October of 2003 when she and Verlon moved to Villa Del Rey Retirement Inn in Roswell. Mrs. Davis, whose favorite role was mothering six children and two foreign exchange students, also was secretary to the principal at Artesia High School and later served as Registrar for the Zia Girl Scout Council. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Artesia where she served as an elder, organist and pianist. She sang in the choir for 44 years and served as president of the Presbyterian Women. Mrs. Davis was selected as Artesias Mother of the Year in 1965. She was a Lifetime Member of Girl Scouts of the USA and served as a Board Member and troop leader in the Zia Council. She was a member of the PEO Sisterhood Chapter AQ, a former member of DAR, and a recipient of the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Award. Mrs. Davis was an avid reader and an accomplished artist. She loved to travel the world and had visited 49 of the 50 states. She is survived by her husband, Verlon, her sister, Harriett Sams of Pompano Beach, Florida, her children, Dan Sharon Knorr of El Paso, Roxanne Fred Yates of Roswell, John Rose Mary Knorr of Artesia, Andrea Knorr Crockett of Telluride, Colorado, Robert Be Davis of North Oaks, Minnesota and Barbara Gene Thornton of Lamy. Her fifteen grandchildren are Gabrielle Michael Keenum of Lubbock, Texas, Daniel Amy Knorr of Houston, Rebecca Bob Pemberton of Austin, Texas, Sarah Hunter Glass, of Dallas, Amanda Yates of Austin, William Katharine Davis of Santa Fe, Jane and Polly Davis of North Oaks, Minnesota, Robert Thornton of Las Cruces, Stacey Travis Gunderson of Ft. Collins, Colorado, Allison and Julia Crockett of Telluride, Colorado, and Jack, Ben and Meg Knorr of Artesia. She is also survived by two great-grandchildren, Mikaela and Shaler Keenum of Lubbock, and by many good friends. Memorial contributions may be sent to Girl Scouts Zia Council, 208 S. Fourth, Artesia, NM 88210, or the Roswell Symphony Orchestra, 1717 W. Second Street, Suite 112, Roswell, NM 88201. The family would like to thank Dina Males for the loving care she provided Mrs. Davis.