May & June 2006
Copper Center resident and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Superintendent John E. (Jed) Davis, 56, died Monday, April 3, 2006, in Anchorage with his family at his side.
A memorial service and reception are planned on Saturday, April 15, at 1 p.m. at the park visitor center, Mile 106.8 Richardson Highway, in Copper Center. His ashes will be buried at Grand Canyon Cemetery in Arizona and a memorial service will also be held there.
Davis was born in El Paso, Texas, on July 28, 1949. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and graduated from East Grand Rapids High School in 1968. He attended community college there and worked as a respiratory therapist in East Grand Rapids.
Davis then moved west, beginning a 35-year career with the National Park Service. He began work as a seasonal employee at Grand Canyon National Park in 1971, becoming a permanent employee there in 1974, working as a carpenter and plumber. His family remembers, "Jed spent much time working on the cross-canyon pipeline, spending time in the canyon he loved so much, repairing leaks in the line that supplied water to facilities on the south rim of the canyon."
Davis and his wife, Nancy, lived and worked in 11 national parks while raising their family. Davis's career included positions of increasing responsibility at Yosemite, Mount Rainier, Capitol Reef, Glen Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Isle Royale, and Death Valley. Jed and Nancy moved to Alaska in 2000 when he became deputy superintendent at Glacier Bay National Park. He was named superintendent of Wrangell-St. Elias in 2004.
The family remembers Jed was passionate about fishing and was fortunate to always live near great fishing. He taught his three children to fish and they carry on the tradition. Jed and Nancy always counted their blessings, realizing how fortunate they were to be able to live and raise their family in America's most wonderful natural places, the family said.
Davis is survived by his wife, Nancy, of Copper Center; son and daughter-in-law, Ben Davis and Maria Pedersen of Gustavus, Alaska; son and daughter-in-law, Abe Davis and Heather Coletti of Anchorage; and daughter, Bethan Davis of Juneau. He is also survived by his mother, Bette Vicari of Fayetteville, North Carolina; brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Chuckie Davis, also of Fayetteville: brother, Bob Davis of Huntsville, Utah; and sister and brother-in-law, Diane and George Kuckenbacker of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Jed Davis Memorial Fund, in care of the Alaska Natural History Association, 750 West Second Ave, Suite 100, Anchorage, AK 99501-2167.
John E. (Jed) Davis, 1949—2006
