Marguerite Latta Davis

Marguerite Latta Davis passed away on Sunday, February 3, 2008. She was born to William and Daisy Latta on October 9th, 1929 in a one-room homestead cabin her parents built outside Fort Laramie, Wyoming. The second of 11 children, she graduated from Fort Laramie High School and the University of Wyoming, where she majored in music (though later in life she was better known for her accordion-playing) with a minor in Spanish. In 1951, she married John V. Davis of Glendo, Wyoming and the couple drove from Wyoming to Mexico City on their honeymoon, where they visited many of Mexico’s great archaeological sited and Marguerite began a life-long love affair with archaeology. In 1959, the couple moved to El Paso, TX, after John accepted a job at White Sands Missile Range. Since that time, Marguerite made El Paso her home. At first Marguerite worked part-time as a substitute school teacher with EPISD, but when her children were older, she worked as a high school reading teacher (Irvin HS), a vice-principal (Hart ES), a principal (Burnet ES) and a district specialist in Spanish, English and bilingual curriculum before retiring in 1993. While working for EPISD, Marguerite earned a Masters of Education in Reading and a Masters of Education in Administration, both from the University of Texas-El Paso. Even after retiring, she continued to do contract work as a teacher trainer for the district, as teaching reading was her passion and she was active in the International Reading Association. She also volunteered for her community by serving on several city and school district committees. As parents, Marguerite and John sought to instill in their children the values of education and cultural awareness; the family regularly traveled throughout the Western US and Northern Mexico on camping trips and visits to archaeological sites and the family also made annual summer trips to Wyoming so their children would know their grandparents. But after 1957 the El Paso area was their home; all three Davis children are English-Spanish bilingual thanks to their parents. Marguerite and John were also stalwart supporters of the El Paso Archaeological Society and fervently believed in educating the public about the rich prehistory of the El Paso area; Marguerite served as president of the Archaeological Society and was instrumental in helping create the El Paso Museum of Archaeology (formerly the Wilderness Park Museum). Marguerite was preceded in death by her parents and by her brothers Larry, William and Robert; she is survived by her brothers Alan, Frank and Harry and her sisters Mary Jane Fultz, Alice Williamson, Annabelle Schmidt and Eva Jean Kaper, by her children, Jeremiah V. Sr. and Margarita Davis of El Paso, Jonathan E. Davis and Silvia Marinas of Mesilla, NM, and Kathleen and Mike Neumann of Canton, Michigan, along with five grandchildren: Jeremiah Davis Jr., John Michael Neumann, Francisco Javier Suarez-Pumariega, Matthew Neumann, Garrett Neumann and Kyra Neumann. Visitation will be held from 10:00-11:30 a.m., Friday, February 8, 2008 at Sunset Funeral Home-Northeast at 4631 Hondo Pass. Interment at Restlawn Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers or other tokens of esteem the family requests that financial donations be made in Marguerite’s name to the El Paso Archaeological Society for the Support of El Paso Museum of Archaeology. Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Homes-Northeast.