Don Davis

Donald Lynn Davis

“And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.” – Chaucer

Donald Lynn Davis was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska on October 19, 1945, the second child of Keith and Dorothy Davis. He grew up on the Mirage Flats Irrigation Project just south of Hay Springs where he worked and played on the farm until he went to college. 

He married the love of his life, Rosemary Pulliam in 1965 and they had two children, Kelly and Bryan.

Don graduated from Kearney State College in 1969 and taught briefly in Cambridge, Nebraska before moving to Broken Bow where he and Rosemary lived for 40 years. Don taught English, speech, drama, journalism, and radio for Broken Bow High School. From 1972-1990, he directed an award-winning radio program, Concord, which was written, produced, and run by high school students at KCNI. In the 1990s, Don was a pioneer of distance learning. He was the first high school teacher in Nebraska to combine local and remote classes over a fiber optic network. Don was an educator in Broken Bow for 40 years: First as a teacher, then as a school counselor, and ultimately as an administrator for MidPlains Community College. 

In 2009, the Chamber of Commerce presented Don Davis the “Citizen of the Year” award for his efforts to grow the community college, as well as for his decades of community service at the Custer County Historical Society, the Optimist Club, and the Broken Bow School Board. 

In 2012, Don and Rosemary moved to Pickerington Ohio where his volunteer efforts turned to woodworking as he built dressers at the Furniture Bank and joined Craftsmen for Kids which designs, builds, and donates educational toys to Appalachian Head Start programs.

Don succumbed to cancer on January 26, 2022. His funeral service will be held on Friday, February 11 at 4:00pm at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Broken Bow, NE with Father Jim Hunt officiating. The service will be livestreamed at www.govierbrothers.com.  Afterward, we will have a celebration of life reception at Mid-Plains Community College, 2520 S E St, Broken Bow, NE.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Don Davis Early Entry Access Scholarship which is managed by the Custer County Foundation. Either contact the foundation directly or contribute at https://secure.givelively.org/donate/custer-county-foundation-inc/don-davis-early-entry-access-scholarship.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, James “Keith” and Dorothy Davis, and by his siblings Rev. James Keith Davis, Jr. and Kathryn Davis Ward. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary of Pickerington, Ohio, children Kelly and Bryan (Terri) Davis, grandchildren Valerie Orr and Jason Orr, and their father, Ken; and grandchildren Blake Davis and Carlie Davis; brother-in-law Larry Ward, and nephew J. Kristopher Ward.

Don lives on through the impact he has had on his students, family, and friends.