Jean Davis

Betty Jean Davis, 98, died on her own terms on Sunday, February 1, 2026, still bright as the North Star. An English Anglican bishop must have had her in mind when he penned these lines: “For all the saints who from their labors rest, who Thee by faith before the world confessed; Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.” True to this beloved hymn, her life was defined by her faith. To the end she was, like Queen Elizabeth II, the family matriarch, staying on top of her affairs, discussing her final instructions, and guiding her family to that perfect light.
Mrs. Davis, who was always known as Jean because her older sisters disliked a contrary neighbor named Betty, was born in Aurora, Nebraska, on August 1, 1927, to Ora Sloan Day and Florence Virginia Damoude Day. She was the youngest of five sisters. Her father was a mason responsible for Depression Era public buildings, many of which still stand today, owing to his skill as an artisan. Her mother was one of the first female graduates of a Nebraskan business school of the time. Both her parents were children of pioneers who settled that midwestern territory with grit and gumption. Her sisters were Dorthea Clawson (Jack), Oral Herbig (Ken), Edith Reisinger, and Bess Eileen Day, a writer whose works include Neihardt: The Music of What Happens; The Bones of Lost Canyon; The Barada Quest; and The Mortons of Arbor Lodge: Their Early Years in Nebraska Territory.
After graduating from Aurora public schools, Jean matriculated to the University of Nebraska, where she became a lifelong fan of the Cornhuskers football team. While both were at UNL, she dated her husband David Rodney Davis, son of telephone executives David M. and Ruth C. Davis, whose father John T. Price, a descendant of Lord Baltimore and General Sterling Price (Governor of Missouri, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and, later, Civil War general and military ally of Maximilian I of Mexico, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria), helped found the public educational system in Nebraska. They were married on August 18, 1946. After their marriage, her husband attended the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, from which he was graduated in 1954. Throughout his years in medical school, she worked at the college and earned her Ph.T. (“Pushed Husband Through”). They were both active in the medical school fraternity and auxiliaries.
Upon completion of his medical internship, they moved to Montana in 1956 to fulfill Dr. Davis’s dream of living and practicing “out West.” They settled in Roundup and, for the next forty years, served communities encompassing more than one hundred miles. Three of those years were spent in Mesa, Arizona, from 1973 to 1976. They raised two children, daughter Jan Leigh Hoy (Patrick) of Billings and son David Morris Davis II of Highland Park, Texas; another son Jeffrey died in infancy. They were members of the First Congregational Church of Roundup. Throughout their years in Roundup, Jean was active in their church and community, the local medical auxiliaries, the Montana Republican Party, the Roundup Ridge Riders, the Pine Ridge Golf Club, and P.E.O. Chapter N, where she served in several leadership positions, including president. Upon their retirement, Dr. and Jean left Roundup and spent time on the Boulder, in the Southwest, and on a few European excursions. They eventually chose Billings as their home base, first joining King of Glory Lutheran Church and then the First Presbyterian Church of Billings. They also were members of the Big Timber Lutheran Church. Their shared love of golf introduced them to new friends throughout the United States. They also volunteered at PGA tournaments that allowed them to meet their favorite pros, including Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, and Payne Stewart. They were at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational when Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour title.
After Dr. Davis’s death, Jean volunteered for St. Vincent’s Healthcare, joined the Global Grannies, played more golf, and organized bridge sessions at several local senior living facilities. She was a member of Billings Public Library, reading two or three books a week, and held season tickets to Billings Studio Theater and the Billings Symphony for many years. She also enjoyed performances of the Montana Rimrock Opera. She loved to dine out; she was adamant that her kitchen was now closed!
In her nearly ten decades on earth, Jean was witness to history. Her life began under Calvin Coolidge, “Silent Cal,” followed by Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. She campaigned for many of them, including Barry Goldwater (“In your heart you know he’s right”). She also campaigned for Montanans Tim M. Babcock, James F. Battin, William S. “Bill” Mather, and Denny Rehberg. Sadly, she also saw in her lifetime the world torn apart by more than one hundred wars and conflicts. Her uncle Robert Day was one of the ten million military personnel – the vast majority being young men – killed during World War I. He died almost immediately upon landing in France. For his heroic military service, he was decorated posthumously. Her husband and his brothers all served their country during World War II. Her brother-in-law Col. John E. Davis, left for dead in the frozen Ardennes Forest, survived the Battle of the Bulge. With eight inches of snow and nighttime temperatures dropping to twenty below zero, Col. Davis, lacking proper winter gear, suffered severe disabling, frostbite. He later became a top attorney and successful entrepreneur, owning multimillion-dollar businesses in Michigan and Florida.
One of her earliest memories, Jean said, was the kidnapping of the 20-month-old son of Col. Charles Lindbergh and his wife, aviatrix and author Anne Morrow Lindbergh on March 1, 1932. She was afraid she would be next. She was just four years old. Her life spanned the inventions of television, the transistor, the jet engine, satellites, spacecraft, and the microchip. She learned to use a wide variety of computers, mobile devices, and smart phones. Even in her last few months, she checked on family and friends via email. Days before her death, she visited with her beloved British great grandchildren on FaceTime.
In marrying Dr. Davis, she often said that she married adventure. In spite of herself, she learned to ride horses, camp, hunt, fish, hike, and drive snowmobiles and classic cars, including a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a 1958 Austin-Healey, which she drove from California to Montana one summer. She braved private plane travel, including flights to Mexico in her husband's DC-3, once owned by American business magnate William Barron Hilton.
Jean saw “live and in person” a galaxy of entertainers, including Dinah Shore, Nat King Cole, Debbie Reynolds, Liberace, Johnny Carson, Don Ho, Sonny & Cher, Barbra Streisand, The Carpenters, Don Rickles, Elvis Presley, the Fifth Dimension, the Jackson Five, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Celine Dion, and Siegfried & Roy. She and her husband were in the audience when Frank Sinatra came out of retirement to make a historic sold-out comeback in 1978.
In addition to her two children, she is survived by her grandson David Wayne Hoy of Louisville, Kentucky; granddaughter Elizabeth Helen Feltham (Andrew) of Fareham, England; great grandchildren Henry John Feltham and Emily Jean Feltham; and more than fifty nieces, nephews, and their extended families. She is also survived by Jane Troester Crawford (Don) and Thomas M. Troester, (Ann) children of the late Dr. and Mrs. O.S. Troester, both of San Antonio, and countless friends in Montana and beyond (you know who you are!).
Part of the Greatest Generation, Jean Davis will be remembered with great affection for her deep and abiding faith, generosity, impeccable manners, tailored style, inner beauty, intelligence, sharp wit, frank observations, and love of country. She was an excellent hand at cards – from bridge to pinochle. She worked the daily crossword and Jumble. At the time of her death, she was still waiting for her Secret Santa number to be drawn on Wheel of Fortune. She was a fan of the Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Cash Cab, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Jeopardy, TCM, and Fox News have one less Nielsen household.
What was her secret to a long, happy life? Put your faith and family ahead of riches. Focus on others and not on yourself. Be a good listener and never betray a confidence. Read a daily devotional. Keep informed; do not live in the past. Maintain a daily and weekly routine. Laugh often. Stay hydrated. Eat a well-balanced diet. Moderation in all things. Say “Yes!” to every invitation. Always let your family and friends know how much you love and appreciate them. Kiss and hug often. Smile! Stay young at heart and make friends with multiple generations. It won’t hurt you to be generous. Dress for success – always look your best. Her favorite catchphrases were: “Trust in the Lord”; “I love you, Honey!”; “Keep plugging away”; “Soldier on”; “Don’t let them get you down”; and “Onward and Upward!”
Her memorial service will be held this summer at First Presbyterian Church in Billings, on August 14, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, Jean requested that donations be made to two favorite organizations. Memorials may be given to the Billings Public Library Foundation (billingslibraryfoundation.org/donate) to benefit the Senior Bookmobile outreach or in support of women’s higher education with a donation to Cottey College (PEO International), 1000 West Austin, Nevada, MO 64772.