Larry Eugene Davis

Funeral Services for Larry Davis, 72, of Dallas, were held on Tuesday, November 29, at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Gregory with Pastor Jarred Nies officiating.

Music was provided by the congregation and Melanie Hannahs, organist. The grandchildren were in charge of registration and flowers.

Casket bearers were Joey Meyers, Sam Hoffart, Barry Sinkular, Bill Sinkular, Randy Skalberg, and Steve McCance.

Interment was in the Hillview Cemetery at Dallas, SD with military honors.

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Larry Eugene Davis was born October 9, 1939, at Manhatten, KS to Mr. and Mrs. George Hammel. He was christened Elmer Hammel and joined four brothers and a sister in the Hammel home. About three months after his birth his mother died and all of the children were placed in an orphanage in Kansas. At age five Elmer was adopted by Lawrence and Dortha Davis and given the opportunity to choose his own name. He chose Larry Eugene.

When he was approximately 8 years old the Davis family moved from Kansas to Superior, Nebraska where Larry finished his school years through high school. Larry was active on the basketball team and showed a great talent for music. He spent the summers with his family traveling with custom harvesting, which was the beginning of his long career in agricultural supplies.

Larry spent time in college before being inducted into the military service in 1961. After his discharge in 1964 he returned to Nebraska and continued custom harvesting. Larry was known for bringing his organ or his accordion to the local towns' various celebrations. He was married to Dixie. They were the parents of three children Christin, Debra and Rodney.

Larry began a career as a salesman for cattle dusters for a company called Dr. Scratch, which was the start of his nickname "Scratch". In his travels, he met many people and eventually met Carol. He sold dusters through another company called My Best and then moved on to selling mineral through Agpro. Larry was a natural salesman for sure.

Larry married Carol and they made their home in the Gregory area. Her children Tammy and Richard would then be joined by their children Brett and Evan. In 1989, the family moved to Dallas. Together they owned and operated the Dallas Mini Mart and Larry continued to expand his business area in South Dakota by meeting the farmers and ranchers and offering his service and experience to help them with their operations. Larry enjoyed playing pitch, rarely missing the 9:00 am sessions in Dallas. He continued his working relationships with the agriculture community through his final hospitalization at the VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls. He passed away there on November 24 (Thanksgiving Day) 2011 at the age of 72 years.

Larry is survived by his wife Carol of Dallas, his children: Christin Benson of Wahoo, NE - Debra Montanino of Troy, NY - Rodney Benson of Bennington, NE - Tammy Thomas of Dallas, SD - Richard (Karen) Davis of Casselton, ND - Brett Davis and Evan Davis, both of Mitchell, SD- and by 13 grandchildren. Also surviving are his brothers Fred and Harold and sisters Maxine and DeVee and by nieces, nephews and other relatives.

He was preceded in death by both his birth parents and his adoptive parents, and by two brothers David and Bernard.