Obituaries

Dorothy M. Davis died peacefully, at 89, on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2019, at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Mich. She was born to the union of Lee Mahome El and Maudie Moore at Herman Kiefer Hospital in Detroit, on May 20,1930. At age six, her mother died, and her father later married Lillie Hunter. Dorothy was a spirited and lively child, who grew up in Detroit and graduated from Northern High School. After a short stint working with a local funeral director, she took on America’s toughest job—being a homemaker. Job number one was raising five energetic children and Dorothy was up to the task. Being a person who loved life and its blessings, Dorothy married Herbert Mitchell El. Together they had four children. Dorothy had a fifth child with Willie Bergemy, and she later married Vernon Davis. She and Vernon had a very active and loving life together until he died. Surely, it is an understatement that Dorothy loved her family, and made everyone feel special and she always had an “open door.” Her smile was infectious. She always had solutions born by wisdom, simplicity and humor. As her children entered their teens, and became more independent, Dorothy decided it was time to start her professional career. She began in the catalogue department at Sears, Roebuck and Company in Livonia, Mich. However, her acumen with numbers and computations led supervisors to promote her to the Accounting Department; a rare placement for African-American retail workers in the 1960s. She worked more than 20 years before retiring from Sears in the late 1980s. In retirement, Dorothy was an avid traveler; casino resorts were top destinations. She also had a passion for cooking, and always enjoyed a good card game of Bid whist, Tonk and Poker. When it came to friends and family, she never forgot a birthday. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; husbands Herbert Mitchell El and Vernon Davis; son Herbert Mitchell Jr.; daughter Donna Zooper; sisters Annabelle Dawson; Evelyn Howie; Jean Howie; Rose Kidd; Eunice Mahome; Juliet Alfreda Mahome; Lucinda Mahome; and Retha Mahome; brothers Ahmed Omar Mahome; Alvis Ravanna Mahome; Clarence Mahome; Walter Lee Mahome; and grandsons Terrance Wells and Damon Mitchell. Left to cherish a lifetime of memories of Dorothy are: daughters Sharon Mitchell of Toledo, Ohio; Delphine Mitchell and Retha Wells (John L. Blalock, ptr.) of Detroit; Sister “Della” Bishop of Inglewood, Calif.; Brothers Othello Mahome of Washington, D.C.; and Raifyeel Mahome of Shreveport, La. Also, five grandchildren: granddaughters LaJuana M. Jones of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Schelly McMillan (Eric) of Baltimore; and Cherese Mitchell of Toledo; grandsons Keith Mitchell of Baltimore and Steven Mitchell of Detroit. Also, great-granddaughters: Brandy Mitchell of Baltimore; Victoria Mitchell of Toledo; Simone Mitchell of Detroit; and Leigh McMillan of Baltimore. Also, great-grandsons Erick Jones of Ypsilanti, Mich.; and Derrick Jones of Ann Arbor; Allen Mitchell and Mitchell Mitchell of Toledo; Steven Mitchell Jr., of Detroit; and Eric McMillan II of Baltimore; and a host of other relatives and friends. The irony of Dorothy’s death on Christmas Eve is that of all the days of the year, it was December 24th, that she cherished most. It was always the day before Christmas that she celebrated it. Always with a spirited, festive family meal with gifts under the tree for all of her family members and friends. Thus it is fitting that on Christmas Eve 2019, that Dorothy M. Davis received her gift of everlasting life.