William Davis

Dr. William B. Davis (Brad), a longtime resident of Mobile, Alabama and a native of Gulfport, Mississippi, died On Saturday, January 2, 2021 in Mobile Alabama. At 76 years of age, he is now returning to his final resting place on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that he loved so much.
Dr. Davis was preceded in death by his father John W. Davis; his mother Larue Bradshaw Davis; and his wife of nearly 51 years Faye Sheffield Davis.
He is survived by his sons Daniel Lanier Davis(Leslie) and William Bradshaw Davis II; his daughter Amanda Davis; two grandsons, Grayson Lanier Davis and Adams Baker Davis. He has one surviving sibling Sandra Davis Salloum.
Dr. Davis was a 1962 graduate of Gulfport High School where he Lettered in football and set new school records running on the track team. After completing High School, he went on to attend The University of Mississippi where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and received a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1966. Immediately upon graduation and in light of the Vietnam War, he was called to military duty where he successfully completed advanced instruction to become a medic at the United States Army Medical Training Center. During his active enlistment he was nominated for OCS training and went on to become a commissioned officer for the Mississippi Army National Guard as a 2nd Lieutenant. While continuing to serve in the National Guard, he successfully completed his doctorate studies and was awarded a PhD in microbiology in 1971 from The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson after which he went on to serve as a research associate at the St. Louis University School of Research.
In 1974 he began what would become a 41 year tenure at the University of South Alabama in Mobile where he held the administrative position of Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Allied Health professions.
He was later nominated and served many years in the administrative position as Dean of the Graduate school.
In his final years prior to retirement in 2015, he served as Chairman of Biomedical Sciences while also teaching the infectious disease courses and physicians assistants.
Apart from his profession, Dr. Davis was devoted to his family. He loved watching Ole Miss football and enjoyed spending as much time as he could with his two grandsons Grayson and Adams whom he doted.
He was also an accomplished fisherman and had a lifelong passion and love for Gulf Coast speckled trout fishing along the coastal waters of Mississippi and the Louisiana Marsh.
Greatly respected and admired among family and friends alike, he was dearly loved by all and will be greatly missed.
The funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM, Friday, January 8, 2021, at RIEMANN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, Gulfport, with a visitation from 1:00 PM until the service. Interment will follow at Southern Memorial Park, Biloxi.
An online obituary may be viewed at www.riemannfamily.com