Former Albany mayor, Renaissance man Jimmy Davis turns 107

ALBANY ¬ Today (Tuesday) marks the 107th birthday of James (Jimmie) Varner Davis. He will celebrate the milestone with his daughter, Carol Adair, and friends in Mountain Brook, Ala. However, for more than 75 years, Davis called Albany home. And he leaving an enduring mark on the city.

Davis was born in Lexington, N.C., the oldest of four children. He was raised in Columbus, where his father worked for the Georgia Power Co. Upon his graduation from Columbus High School in 1934, Davis continued his education, graduating from Young Harris Junior College in 1937, and Emory University in 1941.

Davis arrived in Albany in 1941, becoming a member of the State Bar of Georgia and practicing law. In 1952, he started a law firm with partner Leonard Farkas Sr. and Edmund Landau Jr.

Davis served as a representative to the General Assembly of Georgia from 1949-1950, as president of the Albany Bar Association from 1949-1950 and again in 1975, and as vice president of the Albany Bar Association in 1950. He was elected mayor of the city of Albany in the mid-’60s, serving from 1964-1967. He also served as city attorney for the city of Albany for 23 years, from 1968 to 1992.

Davis represented the Albany Department of Community and Economic Development from its inception until he retired as city attorney. During that period, he structured numerous real estate transactions, negotiated contracts for the department, and interpreted HUD Rules and Regulations to ensure compliance by the department. He also represented the Albany Water, Gas & Light Commission for 25 years, from 1968 to 1993.

After retiring from general practice, Davis became “of counsel” with the Hodges, Erwin, Hendrick, and Coleman firm. He would later do the same with the Perry and Walters firm, continuing to practice in this capacity for another 25 years.

More importantly to Davis, for 64 years he was happily married and devoted to Jean Bennett Davis. Their daughter was born in 1948. Then in 1953, just six years after their marriage, Jean would develop quadriplegia due to Polio paralysis. Davis cared for her throughout their marriage, poignantly chronicling the love they shared and its impact on the family in some of the poems he wrote.

Davis is a true “Renaissance Man,” an avid hunter and outdoorsman with a passion for flora and fauna of the region. He is a lifetime member of First United Methodist Church of Albany and the YMCA. He was renowned not only for his strength in the gym but his stamina in the outdoors.

As a child, Davis survived a venomous snakebite by crossing a beaver dam as a short cut in his trek to get medical attention. His passion for sailing led him to learn celestial navigation. At the age of 70, he would turn his attention to poetry, avidly reading varying styles of poetry, taking classes honing his skill with the English language and the turn of a word.

Two books of Davis’ poetry, “Late Harvest” and “Trickles from a Dry Well” are moving chronicles reflecting on nature, his life and those fortunate enough to have shared some of his 107 laps around the sun.

Davis currently lives in Mountain Brook, where he moved to live with Carol and her late husband, Allen Adair.

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