1902
Janet
2013
Janet Mura Davis
December 7, 1902 — August 23, 2013
BIOGRAPHY OF MURA JEANNETTE DAVIS
Janet Davis was born Mura Jeannette Davis on December 7, 1902 and grew up in Snoddys Mill in Fountain County, Indiana, home of the covered bridges. Janet has had a lifelong love of covered bridges, and she and her sisters traveled throughout Indiana taking pictures of them.
Janet died at 6:30 a. m. Friday August 23, 2013 at Carmel Health & Living Center, Carmel, IN. She was the oldest lady in Indiana when she celebrated her 110th birthday last December.
Janet was the third of five children born to Iola and James Davis, (Edith, LeeVan, Janet, Susan Genevieve, and Helen) and attended school in a one room schoolhouse in Snoddys Mill that included grades one through eight. She and her brother and sisters walked to school in the fall and spring, and rode in a horse drawn cart during the winter months when it snowed. She remembers walking home the approximately 3 miles from school each day through woods and fields. Janets older sister Edith later taught school at Snoddys Mill.
Janet graduated from the Indiana Common Schools with a certificate of proficiency in Orthography, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Geography, English Grammar, Physiology, U. S. History, Agriculture, Domestic Science and Music on June 7, 1918, and received a diploma from Kingman High School on April 28th, 1922.
On September 16th, 1925, Janet obtained her nursing diploma from the Methodist Episcopal Hospital and Deaconess Home, also known as the Methodist Hospital School for Nurses. She received her Registered Nursing License on June 9th, 1926.
Janet roomed at the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing while she studied for her degree. At that time, students lived in housing called the cottages near the hospital, each with a live-in housemother. A 10 p.m.curfew was strictly enforced. The earliest uniforms were made of blue gingham with floor-length skirt, long-sleeved blouse, starched white collar, cuffs six to eight inches long, white bib and apron, black shoes and stockings. Students were provided with the instructions to make their own uniforms. During the time Janet attended, a total of 206 students were in training. Students were not required to pay tuition until 1932, and the early students of the school received not only their room and board, but also a small monthly paycheck. The cost of anything they broke during training, however, was deducted from their pay (source: http://www.methodisthealthfoundation.org/uploads/methodist_history.pdf)
Janet remembers seeing her older brother, LeeVan, leave for World War I in 1917, when she was 15. At that time she served as a Red Cross volunteer. She also remembers seeing him return from the war and go on to marry his fianc Ruth. Janet herself never married, and she also never learned how to drive a car. She either took the bus or walked during her long nurses career in Indianapolis. On her 110th birthday, when asked what could account for her long and healthy life, she answered, walking.
She worked as a nurse at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis during her career, attaining the status of Director of Nurses. Janet attended conferences in Boston, New York, Atlanta and other major American cities during these years.
In the years after she retired, Janet traveled abroad, visiting Holland, Germany, England, Switzerland, Greece, Lichtenstein, Italy, Turkey and Israel. Janet toured the Holy Land extensively - Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Emmaus, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Samaria, Garden of Gethsemane, Corinth and Bethlehem. She also toured the U.S. with her sisters Helen and Jerry, visiting Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, and the Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
Janet attended the Bellaire United Methodist Church and served as church secretary-treasurer from 1972 until her retirement from that position in 2004 at the age of 102. She lived on her own at Marcy Lane Village Apartments from 1951 until November 2005, when, at age 103, she moved to Carmel Manor. Her great-nephews John Sowers and Kent Sowers live in Arizona , her great-niece Lisa Harlan lives in Colorado and great-niece Edie Bennett lives California. Her extended family, Al and Mildred Jones, are in Indianapolis and are still in contact with her and visit frequently.
Funeral services will be at 2:00 p. m. EDT Friday August 30, 2013 at Shelby Funeral Home with Rev. L. Ray Lynn officiating. Burial will follow in Coal Creek Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to services. Condolences to the family: www.shelbyfuneralhome.com.
Janet Davis was born Mura Jeannette Davis on December 7, 1902 and grew up in Snoddys Mill in Fountain County, Indiana, home of the covered bridges. Janet has had a lifelong love of covered bridges, and she and her sisters traveled throughout Indiana taking pictures of them.
Janet died at 6:30 a. m. Friday August 23, 2013 at Carmel Health & Living Center, Carmel, IN. She was the oldest lady in Indiana when she celebrated her 110th birthday last December.
Janet was the third of five children born to Iola and James Davis, (Edith, LeeVan, Janet, Susan Genevieve, and Helen) and attended school in a one room schoolhouse in Snoddys Mill that included grades one through eight. She and her brother and sisters walked to school in the fall and spring, and rode in a horse drawn cart during the winter months when it snowed. She remembers walking home the approximately 3 miles from school each day through woods and fields. Janets older sister Edith later taught school at Snoddys Mill.
Janet graduated from the Indiana Common Schools with a certificate of proficiency in Orthography, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Geography, English Grammar, Physiology, U. S. History, Agriculture, Domestic Science and Music on June 7, 1918, and received a diploma from Kingman High School on April 28th, 1922.
On September 16th, 1925, Janet obtained her nursing diploma from the Methodist Episcopal Hospital and Deaconess Home, also known as the Methodist Hospital School for Nurses. She received her Registered Nursing License on June 9th, 1926.
Janet roomed at the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing while she studied for her degree. At that time, students lived in housing called the cottages near the hospital, each with a live-in housemother. A 10 p.m.curfew was strictly enforced. The earliest uniforms were made of blue gingham with floor-length skirt, long-sleeved blouse, starched white collar, cuffs six to eight inches long, white bib and apron, black shoes and stockings. Students were provided with the instructions to make their own uniforms. During the time Janet attended, a total of 206 students were in training. Students were not required to pay tuition until 1932, and the early students of the school received not only their room and board, but also a small monthly paycheck. The cost of anything they broke during training, however, was deducted from their pay (source: http://www.methodisthealthfoundation.org/uploads/methodist_history.pdf)
Janet remembers seeing her older brother, LeeVan, leave for World War I in 1917, when she was 15. At that time she served as a Red Cross volunteer. She also remembers seeing him return from the war and go on to marry his fianc Ruth. Janet herself never married, and she also never learned how to drive a car. She either took the bus or walked during her long nurses career in Indianapolis. On her 110th birthday, when asked what could account for her long and healthy life, she answered, walking.
She worked as a nurse at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis during her career, attaining the status of Director of Nurses. Janet attended conferences in Boston, New York, Atlanta and other major American cities during these years.
In the years after she retired, Janet traveled abroad, visiting Holland, Germany, England, Switzerland, Greece, Lichtenstein, Italy, Turkey and Israel. Janet toured the Holy Land extensively - Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Emmaus, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Samaria, Garden of Gethsemane, Corinth and Bethlehem. She also toured the U.S. with her sisters Helen and Jerry, visiting Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, and the Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
Janet attended the Bellaire United Methodist Church and served as church secretary-treasurer from 1972 until her retirement from that position in 2004 at the age of 102. She lived on her own at Marcy Lane Village Apartments from 1951 until November 2005, when, at age 103, she moved to Carmel Manor. Her great-nephews John Sowers and Kent Sowers live in Arizona , her great-niece Lisa Harlan lives in Colorado and great-niece Edie Bennett lives California. Her extended family, Al and Mildred Jones, are in Indianapolis and are still in contact with her and visit frequently.
Funeral services will be at 2:00 p. m. EDT Friday August 30, 2013 at Shelby Funeral Home with Rev. L. Ray Lynn officiating. Burial will follow in Coal Creek Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to services. Condolences to the family: www.shelbyfuneralhome.com.
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