Obituary: Davis, Berne
Age 96
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday January 31, 2015, at the First Baptist Church in Colfax.
Vault interment will follow at the Colfax Cemetery.
Viewing will be at Bruning Funeral Home on Thursday January 29th from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and one hour prior to service time at the church.
Berne was born in Pullman on September 11, 1918 to Bert and Zaidee (Burk) Davis.
He grew up in the Union Center area and attended school the Union Center schoolhouse until 8th grade.
He then attended Colfax High School, graduating in 1937.
After graduation, Berne attended Kinman Business School for a year and then went to work for Spokane Seed.
Berne was introduced to Betty Whitney by his cousin Lloyd Davis, who was married to Betty’s sister, Marjorie.
After a brief courtship, Berne and Betty were married on February 4, 1942 in Moscow.
Six days later, Berne enlisted in the United States Army and was deployed to the European theater during World War II.
He served under General George Patton in a number of important battles during the war and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service to his country.
Fifty years after the Battle of Normandy, Berne was presented the “Medal of Jubilee” by Congressman George Nethercutt on behalf of the people of France.
In addition to his regular reunions with his Army buddies, Berne was fortunate to have traveled with Inland Northwest Honor Flight to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington DC.
After his discharge from the Army in 1945, Berne returned home and he and Betty made their home two miles from his father’s farm near Union Center.
He was primarily a wheat and pea farmer but also dabbled in cattle, hay and the occasional crop of barley.
Betty worked side by side with Berne on the farm and the tradition of Davis family farming continues today.
Berne was a longstanding member of the Ewartsville Grange where he served as master.
He also served on the Board of Directors for the Almota Elevator Company.
Berne and Betty retired in 1986 and began to travel.
They owned a trailer and enjoyed pulling it to Dworshack reservoir to fish.
They also traveled to Detroit on two occasions to pick up their new car at the factory to drive it home.
But they didn’t keep their travel to just the United States.
Berne and Betty visited China, Australia, New Zeland and were also known to go on cruises - not in the traditional sense of a cruise ship - but hopping on board cargo tankers.
They cruised the Panama Canal on a cargo ship (amongst many other places) and the “shore excursions” were basically all they could visit (unguided, of course) in the time it took the ship to load and unload its cargo.
Betty’s aspirations for visiting Europe were vetoed by Berne, saying “I left nothing there.”
Berne is survived by his sons, Gerald (Candy) Davis and Robert Davis both of Colfax; Don (Vikki) Davis of College Place; six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Ruth (Bill) Bird of Greer, Idaho; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, in 2005 as well as his two siblings, Wayne and Esther.
Because of their assistance in helping Berne visit the World War II Memorial, memorial contributions in Berne’s honor are suggested to Inland Northwest Honor Flight, 608 W. 2nd #309, Spokane, WA 99201.
Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax has been entrusted with funeral arrangements.
Online condolences may be left at www.bruningfuneralhome.com