Dear Colleagues and Students:
The Bucknell community continues to mourn the sudden passing of Thaddeus Davis ’09 who died tragically last week while on vacation with his family. Thaddeus was employed as a development officer in the Annual Fund Office since 2014. Services have been scheduled for Saturday, July 29. Details may be found in the complete text of the obituary below, as provided by the family.
You are encouraged to visit our In Memoriam Site at bucknell.edu/InMemoriam and share personal notes of sympathy and remembrance with others.
On behalf of our entire University community, I extend our deepest sympathies to Thaddeus’s family, as well as to all who knew him at Bucknell.
John C. Bravman
President
Thaddeus Aaron Davis, 30, of Lewisburg, died suddenly, Thursday, July 20, 2017 in Corolla, North Carolina.
He was born March 3, 1987 in Newark, NJ, a son of Roosevelt M. Davis, Sr. and Loretta Walker Boyce. On June 23, 2007, he married the former Amy Magill ‘11, who survives. Together they celebrated 10 years of marriage.
Surviving in addition to his wife and parents are four children, Anaya Christine Davis, Jeremiah Christian Davis, Liana Marie Davis and Sofia Elizabeth Davis, all at home, and Amy is expecting their fifth child in November. He is also survived by five brothers, Prince Moore, Rodney M. Davis, Roosevelt M. Davis Jr. ‘08, Brandon Davis and Jalen Davis; two sisters, Rose Greaves-Hopkins and Cheryl Davis; Amy’s parents, John ’75 and Elizabeth Magill; her brothers, Peter and Thomas Magill; and her grandmother, Gladys Magill. Thaddeus was predeceased by a cousin, Diamond Baimba and his Aunt, Janice Logan.
“Cause if it’s grace I need you got me, and if it’s mercy I need you got me, so on the day you tell me my time is through, You will say I lived this life for you. Lord, I won’t let you down.” These lyrics, written by Thaddeus as a part of his music ministry, are a testament to the way he lived his life. Once making a decision to walk a path with Jesus Christ, he was totally surrendered to any future God would have for him. He regularly expressed a simultaneous love of his life and readiness to be united with his Savior.
“My goal is to show the world what the king’s about and how them blessings come when you take the kingdom route. In the middle of affliction, you’re able to sing and shout.” Thaddeus would set aside anything to give his time to those in need. He never shied away from the difficult moments of life, whether talking through personal challenges with his friends and family or major life changes and struggles with his football players and their parents.
Thaddeus coached Lewisburg Area High School Varsity Football as the Defensive Coordinator since 2014, and was going to be the Shikellamy High School Football Defensive Coordinator for the 2017 season. Thaddeus was planning to serve as the head coach of the Youth Football A Team in Lewisburg for this upcoming season, having coached the B team the previous year. At the center of his coaching philosophy was encouragement. He wanted all players to love the sport, to realize their strengths and abilities, and to go as far as possible on and off the field.
“Christ died from his love, see he loved us to death, so we can love. So me, I got love for the hustlers, I got love for the broken, I got love for the stranger and the otherwise hopeless. I show love to the world, I’ve got love for the chosen, God loved for the world, He is where our hope is.” Thaddeus believed in extending boundless grace and love to everyone he met. This was demonstrated in so many ways, including his frequent conversations across political divides. He believed in the uniqueness of the individual American experience, which created in him the capacity to love everyone he came across no matter how different they may have been. His passion for politics was also seen in his previous media relations position with the Democratic Party’s Legislative Communications office at the PA House of Representatives.
Beyond music, football and politics, Thaddeus loved theater and performed in many productions, most recently playing the role of Walter Lee Younger in a local production of A Raisin in the Sun.
“I gotta have beautiful feet, gotta be true what I preach. I gotta bring peace. All of the people I meet gotta know they can be free, they gotta be reached.” Thaddeus realized the goals he expressed in this song as he travelled up and down the East coast speaking and ministering through music, and across the sea to Honduras on three mission trips, bringing the good news of his faith to countless men, women and children. Additionally, as a member of Revival Tabernacle in Watsontown, he served as a Children’s Church Ministry Leader, a Young Married’s Ministry Leader and a Lay Minister.
While his reach extended far and wide, his deepest impact was felt at home. Thaddeus fiercely loved his wife and children and invested deeply in each of them. His children waited by the door for him daily, and he could often be found playing games or running workouts with them, or sitting in a room working one-on-one through the tough stuff with compassion and relentless commitment.
Thaddeus was rarely empty handed—his most natural states included holding a microphone, a whistle or one of his children. His 30 years were incredibly full—too full to capture here. His family is incredibly grateful for the gift that he is, and is committed to honoring his legacy for as long as the Lord allows them to remain on this earth. Thaddeus is still speaking to them thorough his music, including one song that states, “we’re not alone, he sent the Son to calm our seas and clear the skies.” His family awaits the day they will join Him in heaven, and they know He is exactly where his soul longed to be.
Friends will be received from 10 a.m. to Noon, Saturday, July 29, at Revival Tabernacle, 960 Susquehanna Trail, Watsontown, followed by the funeral at Noon, with his pastor, the Rev. James R. Bond, officiating.
Private burial will immediately follow the service.
The family will provide the flowers and suggests memorial contributions be made to a trust set up for their children. Contributions to this trust are being accepted by Revival Tabernacle. Checks are to be made payable to Amy Davis and mailed to Revival Tabernacle, P.O. Box 238, Watsontown, PA 17777.
The family is being assisted by the Cronrath-Grenoble Funeral Home, South Second and St. Louis Streets, Lewisburg.