James Davis Obituary, Death – on December 4, 2022, James Luther Davis Jr., of Portland, Oregon, died peacefully with his wife Sally by his side. Sally Loomis, daughter Risa Davis Colistro, son-in-law Joe Colistro, grandson Miles Colistro, siblings Fred Davis (Betsy George) and Peggy Kent (Dan Kent), nephew Alex Kent, and nieces Molly Kent, Amy Davis, and Maggie Davis survive James. James was born in Tucson in 1949, the eldest child of J. Luther Davis and Natalie Young Davis. His parents provided him with a wonderful childhood of Sonoran desert adventures, instilling in him a love of nature and an appreciation for the region’s rich cultural history. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which emphasized education of local flora and fauna, atypical of zoos at the time, had a lasting influence on James’ career.
James attended Green Fields School in Tucson, the Webb School in Claremont, Duke University, and UC Santa Barbara, where he was a member of the local Zero Population Growth chapter. This led to membership on the National Board of Planned Parenthood for several years. After earning a Master’s degree in Zoology from Colorado State University-Fort Collins, he received the College of Natural Sciences’ 1999 Honor Alumnus Award. Nature, music, and photography were among James’ early interests. James started his career at two zoos in California, where he directed outreach programs and taught middle and high school biology. He also met Lani Miller, who moved to Portland, Oregon, for her medical residency and married him there in 1982. As the Portland Audubon Society’s first Education Director, James established many of the organization’s education programs and helped to guide its tremendous growth.
At the same time, he found a musical community as the rhythm guitarist for bands that performed in various forms for over two decades. Daughter Risa was born in 1984. vs. X. He worked at several organizations, including Audubon and Marylhurst University, where he developed an innovative program of science education for Head Start teachers. He also published The Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year: Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in 1996. After his divorce in 1998, James’ devotion as a father was stronger than ever.. James met fellow nature and music enthusiast Sally Loomis in 2000.
They married in 2004, sharing a happy life together full of adventures in music, nature, good food, and gardening. James became a full-time nature educator for Portland’s Metro Regional Government, where he co-founded and staged many of its high-profile annual events. In 2009, James’ book came out in a new edition under the title The Northwest Nature Guide. The term “dementia” refers to a condition in which a person’s memory is impaired. The disease progressed slowly until he took a significant turn for the worse in 2022. You can celebrate James’ life with a tribute donation to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.