Rita Jean Snoddy Davis (1931-2012)

Clan Snoddy morns the loss of one of its finest.  We thank Sid for being a loving caring husband to her.  He was with her and cared for her through the entire long fight.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sid, her children, her sister Mary, and all who loved her, some of whom are mentioned in this obituary:

FAYETTEVILLE — Rita Jean Snoddy Davis of Fayetteville, Ark., died April 16, 2012, at her home. Her husband, Sid, and daughter, Cathy, were with her. Rita was born Feb. 4, 1931, in Coal Hill, Ark., to Rita Arnold Snoddy and Jim Snoddy.

She grew up in Mulberry, Ark., and graduated from Van Buren, Ark., High School. She graduated from the University of Arkansas with a BSBA and later obtained her master’s degree in public administration. She taught at Fayetteville High School and served Fayetteville on the City Planning Commission. She served for many years as Federal Court Clerk for Judges Paul X Williams and Frank Waters. A lifelong Democrat, she endowed the Rita Snoddy Davis Access Arkansas Scholarship for the outstanding political science major in the University of Arkansas’s Fulbright College.

Rita will be remembered by all who knew her as a loving, fair and open person who never met a stranger. She was brave, loyal, generous and outspoken. With her adventurous spirit, she and Sid traveled widely making friends wherever they were. Rita was a consummate friend to both old friends and new. She and Sid were known for their hospitality, opening their home for happy occasions in Fayetteville and at their second home at Lake Tahoe, Nev.

To remember Rita is to remember what a Razorback fan she was, especially a fan of basketball. Rita and her mother flew on the plane with Eddie Sutton’s basketball team to the Alaska Shootout in Anchorage in 1980, the first year the team was in that tournament. To remember Rita is also to remember her with a book or the New York Times. She was a great reader and a great learner.

Rita’s affiliations include Delta Delta Delta, PEO and the Modern Literature Club.

Rita was preceded in death by her son, James Marion McRee.

She is survived by her best love and companion-in-life, Sidney Parker Davis Jr., to whom she was married for 37 years. She is also survived by her daughter, Cathy McRee Hancock and her husband, Mark, of Bentonville, Ark.; her stepson, Drew Davis and his wife, Susan, of Fayetteville; and stepdaughter, Gail Davis O’Donnell of Little Rock. “Mama Rita” enjoyed all her grandchildren, Travis Jennings Hancock and wife, Alyssa, of Bentonville, Faith Ann Hancock of Fayetteville, Emma O’Donnell of Little Rock, Jenny Davis Jackson and her husband, Eric, of Nashville, Tenn., Parker and Kathryn Davis of Little Rock, and John Michael Davis of Fayetteville. Rita’s three great-grandchildren are, Madeleine Hancock, Emmett Jackson and Olivia Davis. Rita’s sisters, close to her heart, also survive her. They are, Mary Snoddy Pratt and husband, Zeke, of Alma, Ark., and Anita Snoddy Paddock of Fort Smith, Ark. A full dozen nieces and nephews hold their Aunt Rita in dear esteem.

Memories of Rita will color, please and be an inspiration in the lives of many people for years to come.

The family would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Alexander Burnett of UAMS, Little Rock, Dr. Malcolm Hayward and Dr. Eric Schaefer and the nurses and staff of the Highlands Oncology Clinic, and the Washington Regional Medical Center Hospice nurses who gave Rita the medical help and constant assurance that allowed her to survive ovarian cancer for a rewarding five-and-a-half years.

A memorial service for Rita will be held on Friday, April 20, at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church on Calvin Street in Fayetteville.

Memorials may be made to the Rita Snoddy Davis Access Arkansas Scholarship. Checks should be made to the University of Arkansas Foundation and sent to Office of Development, Fulbright College, 525 Old Main, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Memorials may also be made to the James McRee Garden fund at the Fayetteville Public Library. Checks should be made to the Fayetteville Public Library Foundation and sent to Fayetteville Public Library, 401 W. Mountain St., Fayetteville, AR 72701.

To sign the online guest book, visit www.mooresfuneralchapel.com.