Erna Bell Davis

Funeral service for Erna Bell Davis, 96, Cordell resident will be held 1:00 P.M. Wednesday, May 24, 2017, at the Clinton's First Mennonite Church, with Rev. Daniel Mosburg, officiating,. Burial will conclude in the Herold Mennonite Cemetery under the direction of the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home. Erna Pankratz Davis was born on Easter morning, March 27, 1921, on the family farm N.E. of Cordell to Otto and Bertha (Schmidt) Pankratz. She could only speck German until she started at the Flynn School. After grade school she attended Cordell High School. After graduation she attended Keens Business School in Clinton. As a teenager she worked on the family farm, caring for the chickens, milking cows, and most of the time drove the tractor, continuing to plow the fields until about six years ago. Erna was baptized at the Harold Mennonite Church. She married Thurman "Jelly" Davis on February 9, 1944 in Cordell. Two weeks after being married on February 22, 1944, Thurman was drafted in the Navy. When Thurman was discharged he returned to Clinton to be with his wife and family. They raised three sons, Gary Wayne, Lyndon Ray, and Randall Eugene. In 1949, she gave birth to twin boys Lynn and Dale who were stillborn. During her life she was a home maker, Club Scout Leader, she worked at the Clinton Schools as an aide, recess monitor and a safety crosswalk guard. Then she was a merchandiser for Hallmark, placing cards at Homeland, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, then ended with Dollar General. She also enjoyed crocheting. Also during this time she helped her husband on the farm. Her son Lyndon as a small child has worked on the family farm and continues today. Thurman passed away on December 22, 2007 in Clinton. Erna passed away Friday morning on May 19, 2017, in the Cordell Christian Home. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband Thurman Davis, infant twin boys Dale and Lynn Davis, and son Gary Davis. She is survived by two sons Lyndon Davis and wife Terri, Cordell, Randy Davis, Moore, OK, daughter in law Mrs. (Gary) Brenda Davis, Dewey, OK. She is also survived by 7 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.