Community Leaders Remember "Mayor for Life" Lawrence Davies
Davies died Sunday evening at the age of 94.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Fredericksburg’s “mayor for life,” Lawrence Davies, died Sunday evening at the age of 94, after a life of service grounded in faith, family, education, and civil rights.
“My heart is sad and we’re sorry to hear of the passing of the strongest pillar of our community,” said Rev. Hashmel Turner, a former City Council member, who spoke to the Advance about the enormous influence Davies had on him personally and on the entire community.
“The list of his achievements over the past half a century would go on and on and on,” Turner said. “He’s responsible for being behind and endorsing so much that has transpired in the City of Fredericksburg.”
A Life in Service
Davies came to Fredericksburg in 1962 so he could become pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site). He was born in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Prairie View A&M University in 1949 with the intention of studying medicine, according to an article published on the Fredericksburg economic development and tourism website.
However, service in the Army inspired him to take up ministry. He first served in Washington, D.C. and then came to Fredericksburg.
Marci Catlett, Fredericksburg City school division superintendent, got to know the Davies family when they arrived in town. Catlett, her mother, and her godmother all developed a close relationship with Davies, his wife Janice, and their three daughters—and she considered them her village.
“The Davies—both of them—so valued education, and faith, family, and human civil rights,” Catlett told the Advance. “That was the generation of adults that we had as our village in this city. They molded us. They were the images that we saw, and we depended on them for our existence.”
Davies succeeded Rev. B.H. Hester as pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site). Hester’s granddaughter, Pamela Bridgewater—who went on to become U.S. ambassador to Benin, Ghana, and Jamaica—worked at the church as a secretary while she was in high school.
“I was able to observe up close Rev. Davies’ profound compassion and commitment not just for the flock at Shiloh but for our wider community, particularly the most vulnerable, underserved and most in need of a hand up or a listening ear,” Bridgewater recalled.
An Inspiring Mentor
In 1966, Davies became the first Black man to be elected to City Council. He served for 10 years and then was elected as mayor—again, the first Black man to hold that office, and one he held for 20 years.
Catlett was a junior in high school when Davies became the first Black mayor of her hometown. She said she won’t ever forget the feeling of seeing someone she knew break such a significant barrier, and it inspired her career goals.
“How impactful is that for someone who’s been engaged with interacting with this family?” she said. “The power of watching that happen in your own city.”
Davies was also important to Turner from a young age. He and his wife provided assistance to Turner’s mother, who was raising 10 children and needed help “pay[ing] our bills and putting food on our table.”
Davies became a mentor to Turner, who worked on the older man’s campaigns for City Council and Mayor and then followed in his footsteps by serving on Council, representing Ward 4, just as Davies did.
“I wanted to make him a proud mentor of mine,” Turner said.
Bridgewater said Davies was a champion and cheerleader for those he mentored all his life. Just a few weeks ago, she said, she took him a hard-bound copy of a history she wrote for the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation.
“He was excited to receive and read it,” she said.
“A Giant Among Humankind”
Davies was Fredericksburg’s longest-serving mayor, and was known as “a mayor’s mayor,” former mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw told the Advance.
“He was someone others looked to for examples of leadership,” Greenlaw said, praising his “steady, quiet, empathetic leadership.”
“He knew how to work with people,” she continued. “He was the leader we needed during some significant times in our history. He and his family have contributed much to the health and well-being of our community. He is a great man who will be sorely missed.”
Bridgewater said Davies was “a giant among humankind” and not just because of his six-foot-plus Texan frame, but because of “his magnanimous heart and unmatched integrity.”
“While a man of great innovative and long-term vision, Pastor/Mayor Davies saw the small picture as well, and the need to address the immediate challenges that people faced in their lives,” she said.
Because of his small-picture focus, many will remember him not only as a City leader, but as the pastor who married them, who counseled them through difficult times, and who delivered eulogies for their loved ones.
Davies was able to see many of his visions for the City come to life—including two new schools, a new police station, the FRED transit system (later named in his honor), and housing for low-income members of the community.
Today, Turner said, “I have the honor of living right beside the street that is named for Pastor Davies, and we are looking forward to the Habitat for Humanity project, which is the works to build more houses right here off Davies Street.”
“It’s been a privilege to carry on his legacy,” Turner said.
Davies’ death comes just five months after that of his wife, Janice. The couple lost two of their daughters to sickle cell anemia, a blood disorder that predominantly affects those of African and Central American heritage, and founded the Fredericksburg Area Sickle Cell Association in 1972 in their daughters’ honor.
Davies is survived by his daughter, Sharron Jeffrey. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
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