Lawrence William (Larry) Davis, Jr., 63, passed away August 3, 2008 at his home in Corpus Christi, Texas. Larry was born October 22, 1944 in Washington, Pennsylvania, to the late Lawrence William Davis, Sr., and Mary Ann Case Davis.
He was a noted fire service author, speaker, and instructor who taught thousands of firefighters across America over his 40 years of service to the firefighting community. His works and teachings were revered by many as “ahead of his time” and his impact on the American fire service– especially the rural community– was perhaps paralleled to none.
Larry started his fire fighting service with the Canonsburg (PA) Volunteer Fire Department in the mid-1960’s. He spent four years in the United States Air Force (USAF) where he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant in their fire service. After leaving the USAF, he spent almost 30 years working in industrial fire and loss prevention with Industrial Risk Insurers (IRI) while at the same time gaining national recognition for his work with the rural firefighting community.
Larry’s work as a fire service instructor was exceptional and he rose to Chairman of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) on the mid-1990’s. After his retirement from IRI he and his wife moved to Texas where he became a Staff Division Chief with the Refinery Terminal Fire Company and then with Industrial Emergency Services.
He was a full member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and was a Certified Fire Protection Engineer. Much of his life-long commitment to improving fire protection can be found in the textbooks that he authored. He was also one of the founders of the Rural Firefighting Institute and was Vice President of GBW Associates, LLC, a fire protection training and consulting firm.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Davis of Corpus Christi; his daughter Kayce Davis of New York City, New York; his brother and family: Mark, Connie, Tom, Mary and Emilie Davis, of Westminster, Maryland; his stepson and family: Christopher, Sonya and Kyle Conrad of Storrs, Connecticut.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at Island in the Son, United Methodist Church, 15602 Hwy 361, Corpus Christi, TX 78418.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Island in the Son Church or to the donor’s local volunteer fire company. Friends wishing to pay tribute through words can email their remembrances to ldavis@gotbigwater.com.
