Monroe's Golden Years

Monroe always left the house dressed with tie, jacket and hat and went down to the park where he would sit and converse with others.

One day he took off his hat and was sitting there on the bench sunning his head. Apparently he dozed off and a lady passed by and put a quarter in his hat. He immediately awoke and seeing what had happened, jumped up and took off after the lady and gave her the quarter back.

Margaret Birdeana was quite an accomplished pianist. Monroe was a kindly gentleman, and requested that she not play the song, “Marching Through Georgia” in his presence, as it brought back painful memories of what had happened in the Civil War.

Monroe's adopted daughter, Alva said that Monroe was an archetype of an old Kentucky gentleman and always tipped his hat to ladies and removed it when he came into the house.

Monroe felt that cars should wait on him rather than he wait on cars. One day he crossed the street without looking and a young lady who thought he was not going to cross, ran him down. The impact broke his shoulder or his collarbone, and it was a compounded fracture because the bone was protruding through the skin. The young girl almost went crazy, but Alva assured her that it was not her fault, that it was just the way he was.

One time he got really upset with Elmer, when he spanked his youngest son, Harry. The old man just turned around and went back to his room without supper as he didn’t want to witness that.

Monroe, in his old age had a very Spartan diet. Primarily because he could never get used to his false teeth and wore them very little. In the morning he drank a mixture of hot water, sugar and cream. That was his “coffee”. Three times a day he ate the same thing, cooked dried peaches and cracked wheat (like oatmeal). He bought the cracked wheat at the mill and bought his peaches by the lug. Once in awhile he would eat a little meat, generally cooked liver, but not very often.

Monroe was deathly afraid of pneumonia. When he caught pneumonia (just before he died), they told him that he just had a cold. His daughter Thersia (DAVIS) GOODALE came and helped Alva take care of him, as she was busy working in Elmer’s plumbing shop bookkeeping and taking care of other secretarial work.

Monroe improved under his daughter’s care to the point she felt she could go back home and allow him to finish convalescing on his own. After her return to her home in Missouri, Monroe decided that it was time for him to die and just quit eating and drinking, even refusing a glass of water. Soon after, he died.

He used to say, when hearing of a young man dying in a car or hunting accident, “Why wasn’t that me? I have lived a long life.”

Monroe Davis Obituary
Thursday, March 29, 1934 Blackwell newspaper
Davis Rites are Set for Friday Funeral services for Monroe Davis, 90, will be held at 10 o'clock Friday morning at the Roberts chapel with Rev. Carl Wilhelm of the Christian Church officiating.

Davis died about 4:30 o'clock Wednesday morning at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Elmer Bradford, 115 1/2 West McKinley Avenue. He had been ill about 3 weeks.

Surviving him are two sons, William of Wichita, KS, and Sam Davis of Enid, OK; and 2 daughters, Mrs. Theurise Goodale of Pampa, Texas, and Mrs. Bradford. Interment will be in the cemetery at Ames.

Link Below To Monroe's Ames, OK Obit and Grave....