MARY FLORENCE HENRY DOANE DAVISON

Mary, daughter of Carl R. and Wilma (Johnson) Henry was born on Aug. 1, 1924. She was the first child in her family to be born in a hospital, the old McRae hospital on Washington Avenue in Alpena. Her family had deep Michigan roots — five generations in the Alpena area. She was raised in a unique, well-known landmark home on State Avenue in Alpena with her two sisters, Susan (Lake) and Elizabeth (Silver).

In 1934 Mary joined the First Congregational Church in Alpena and remained active with the church throughout her lifetime, eventually becoming the oldest living member of the church. After the catastrophic Alpena High School fire in April of 1940, students attended classes in buildings around town including Memorial Hall, American Legion, Civic League and the boys Club. Mary graduated in the spring of 1942 before the new Alpena Central High School was opened in September of 1942. In the summer of 1942 Mary went to Canada on a canoe trip, paddling the Lake Temagami region for 2 1/2 months, an experience she always carried with her.

Mary attended Denison College from 1942-1943. On April 11, 1944 she married her high school sweetheart, William Foster Doane. One-week later Bill returned to his Army post. He was killed in action in Holland on October 1, 1944, just six short months after their wedding.

After the difficulties of war, Mary returned to school and graduated from Chicago’s Moser School in 1945. Two years later, she married veteran James B. Davison on January 23, 1947, in Ann Arbor, where Jim was enrolled at the University of Michigan. Mary and Jim celebrated their 70th anniversary in 2017, the year Jim died at the age of 97. They spent the majority of their lives in the Alpena area, continuing deep regional family roots.

Mary was an independent woman who was open to many new experiences. She sewed, knitted, and wove items for her entire family while maintaining bountiful gardens, ending each day by reading. Her parents built a cottage at Hubbard Lake the year Mary was born. She and her sisters became accomplished sailors, canoeists, and swimmers. On Mary’s 65th birthday, she delighted friends and family by swimming over a mile across Hubbard Lake. Becoming a DAR member on her 90th birthday fulfilled a tribute to her ancestors.

Mary was the matriarch of a loving family; her children Mary Beth (Davison) and husband Jim McCormack, John and his wife Jane, Pam (Davison) and her husband Eric Krebs, Sam and his wife Sharon, Wilma “Billie” Davison and her husband Scott Piller; grandchildren Matthew McCormack, Elizabeth McCormack, Jessilynn Krebs (Norcross), Benjamin Krebs, Lydia Davison (Lengyel), Samuel Davison, and Hannah Davison; and six great-grandchildren.

Mary and Jim derived great pleasure from living over 50 years at their home in the woods on the Thunder Bay River, lovingly dubbed “Shintang,” which is still in the family. Mary’s love of nature and the serenity it provided was inherited by her descendants.

The children will be gathering for a private memorial. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Alpena Public Library. Arrangements have been handled by McWilliams Funeral Home.