Friday, Jul. 25, 2008

Fan’s Support of Carroll Left Legacy

Remembering Warren Davis (1944-2008)

By Zach Warner

Staff Writer

Any weekday afternoon during football season, it was easy to locate Southlake resident Warren Davis.

Sitting in his lawn chair close to the senior high practice fields, he’d be watching the Carroll football players as they worked hard at drills.

In fact, it was usually easy to find Davis on game nights throughout the school year. He was normally attending the Dragons’ big game, whatever the sport.

Davis’ love and support of high school athletics is what many remembered fondly as the Carroll community said goodbye to a member of the Dragons family last week. Davis died July 8 due to complications from a heart attack. He was 63.

Davis’ funeral was held July 18 at St. John Baptist Church in Southlake, as family, friends, coaches and athletes came to pay their respects.

"He got great enjoyment out of watching our players work and improve," said Ronnie Tipps, Carroll athletic director. "He offered his services to the district and didn’t charge anything.

"He gave unselfishly," he said. "He was a man of service."

In recent years, Davis operated the 25-second play clock at Dragon Stadium varsity football games. But in the early 1990s, Davis spent a three-year term on the Carroll school board. It was just one of many ways he gave back to the community in which he lived.

"Warren said he felt he needed to put in his two cents’ worth and help during that time," said Michael Richarme, who knew Davis for over 20 years and, along with Davis and a few friends, make up a group of Carroll sports supporters known as the Dragon Council. "Warren was involved in youth sports and did things to help young athletes.

"That’s one thing I’ll always remember about Warren, is how strong he felt about our kids," he said. "When I say our kids, I’m talking about Carroll athletes. … Carroll is kind of our extended family."

An athlete himself growing up in Refugio, Davis was known as the "Sam Huff of the Valley" for his play as a linebacker on the football team in high school. He graduated in 1963 and went on to attend Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Fla., receiving a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1967.

Davis then enrolled in the MBA program at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, following that by taking a job with General Electric Aircraft Engine Group in Cincinnati before holding several jobs for IBM.

Davis is survived by his wife, Linda, his son, Brad, and granddaughter, Brianna.

Long-time Southlake friend and fellow Dragon Council member Phil Barber said he recalled stories Davis would tell of hitchhiking to Victoria, near Refugio, to see Linda. He also told other stories that originally sounded like whoppers, but were actually true.

"That’s the thing about Warren – he’d be telling these tales about riding bulls and that he was a cowboy," Barber said. "We thought he was stretching the skinny a little. But it turns out that he really did these things. He sure lived a full life."

Health concerns were Davis’ biggest challenge late in his life, as he underwent heart surgery several years ago, battled diabetes and had leg and ankle problems. However, even challenges he faced trying to get around didn’t keep him from attending Carroll athletic events or making an annual trip with Barber to the high school state basketball tournament in Austin every March.

Davis continued his streak of not missing a football game since 1985 this past school year, and the only reason he was unable to see the Dragons baseball team reach the state finals was because he was in the hospital. In fact, the day Davis and Barber planned to attend a Carroll track meet in late spring was the day Davis suffered the heart attack that kept him in the hospital until his death.

Several people spoke at Davis’ funeral, including former Carroll football coach and current University of North Texas coach Todd Dodge. Dodge told an amusing tale of the support Davis showed him even after the eventual four-time state champion coach struggled to an 0-3 start to his career at Carroll.

Davis told Dodge after the first loss that it was OK, he had Dodge’s back. He gave him the same message after Carroll fell to 0-2. After the 0-3 start, Davis came to Dodge and said, "Now Coach, I’ve still got your back, but they’re closing in on us."

Barber said he knew Davis well due to all the long drives to playoff games that Carroll played across the state, all the meals they would eat with the Dragon Council on game night, and all the conversations they enjoyed.

"He was a constant," he said. "He was a good one, and I learned a lot from him. He was a good buddy."

Richarme said he’ll always remember the times Davis invited him to have Thanksgiving dinners at his house when he didn’t have plans, his ability to spark long conversations by throwing out interesting topics, and his love for down-home cooking.

"We had dinner after the funeral and we all missed Warren," he said. "He was still there with us, even though he wasn’t there physically.

"He’ll always be in our hearts and in our memories, and we want to keep him there."