Susan Marie Mackey Davis, 62
Susan Marie Mackey Davis, 62, died Saturday, July 11, 2020, at Piedmont Columbus Regional Medical Center in Columbus, Georgia. A funeral service was held Friday, July 17, 10 a.m. EST at Fort Mitchell National Cemetery with the Rev. Earnestine Campbell officiating. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Susan was born Sept. 15, 1957, in Whitefish, the first child of Aldus Franklin and Clara Marie Mackey. Her childhood years were spent in Rexford and Kalispell. Upon graduation from Flathead High School in 1975, she attended Great Falls Vocational Technical Center in Great Falls, where she earned her certification as a dental assistant. During that time, Susan made many lifelong friends and met her husband-to-be, Donny Walter Davis, from Phenix City, Alabama, who was serving in the United States Air Force at Malmstrom Air Force Base. Susan and Donny were married at Central Christian Church in Kalispell on May 29, 1976, a marriage that endured for 44 plus-years. Susan was exceptionally pretty on that day, wearing a beautiful dress handmade by her mother. During their Air Force time spanning 12 years, Susan and Donny lived in Great Falls, the northern part of the Providence of Quebec in Canada, in Duluth, Minnesota, and on K.I. Sawyer AFB on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Those were very good years for Susan and Donny with the highlight being the birth of their first child Amanda “Mandy” in Duluth.
Upon Donny’s early retirement from the Air Force in 1986, they moved to Phenix City where Susan lived the rest of her life. Susan and Donny had a second child Robinson “Robbie” and five grandchildren. She worked in various capacities for 25-plus years at Blue Cross Blue Shield in Columbus, Georgia. She also worked for 12 years for Piedmont as a medical-student coordinator. It was an extremely rewarding job as she helped many medical students in their education toward becoming doctors. Susan retired from Piedmont in June of 2019 but remained in a part-time capacity until March of 2020. She was a very active member of Epworth United Methodist Church in Columbus and served her beloved church in many ways.
Susan was taught sewing, knitting and crocheting by her mother, crafts that she enjoyed and excelled at her entire life. She especially enjoyed making clothing, blankets and afghans for her children and grandchildren, and prayer shawls for her church. Her last sewing project before her sickness was making masks for family and friends and she donated many to Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital in Phenix City. She also enjoyed cooking, and was considered by all of her grandchildren as the “bestest cooker.” Susan’s daily suppers and Thanksgiving Day meals will be greatly missed by all her family. Other enjoyments included gardening and traveling by car, making many trips from Phenix City to Kalispell. However, her greatest joy was spending time with her family and friends.
Susan was beloved by all who knew her. She was greatly respected wherever she worked and was always dedicated to doing the best she could. She was smart, wise, beautiful and a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother, and a loving sister. Susan was very proud of her children and the success they have achieved. She was also proud of her Montana heritage.
Susan was preceded in death by her mother Clara Mackey and father Aldus Mackey, and her grandson Logan Kinsman, son of her daughter Amanda.
In addition to her husband Donny of 44 years, she is survived by her daughter Amanda Marie Davis-Kinsman and her twin daughters Mary Claire and Emily Lauren Kinsman; and her son, Davis Trent Kinsman; her son, Robinson Aldus Davis, his wife Sarah Sue, and their daughter Samantha Joyce, all of Phenix City; her brother, Daniel M. Mackey, and his wife Wendi of Lakeview, Oregon; and many other family and friends.
The family would like to thank all friends, family members and Epworth United Methodist Church for their love, prayers and support during Susan’s battle with leukemia and COVID-19. We are also grateful to her health care team at Piedmont, which included many doctors who knew Susan and truly loved her. Despite their best efforts, her precious heart simply gave out. She fell into the arms of her Lord Savior Jesus Christ peacefully and with dignity and grace.