- Date Of Birth: May 17, 1922
- Date Of Death: April 23, 2017
- State: Indiana
Michael E. Davis of Rensselaer, Indiana passed away April 23, 2017 at Franciscan Health Rensselaer.
Mike was born in Jacksonville, Illinois on May 17, 1922, the son of the late Harold L. and Florence (Davis) Rolston. He attended elementary school in Denver, Colorado, and graduated from Southeast High School in Kansas City, Missouri, with the Class of 1941. He was enrolled at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, and left there after just two weeks to join the military. Mike was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving from September 1942 to December 1945. As a member of the Army Airborne Communication Division, he spent time in England, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. Mike was a participant of World War II Campaigns and Battles in Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Battle of the Bulge, Rhineland and east-central Europe. He was awarded five Campaign Bronze Stars and unit commendations.
Upon his discharge from the U.S. Army, Mike returned to college at Kansas State University where he received his B.S. in Geology in January 1950 and his M.S. in Geology in August 1951. From 1949-1950, Mike was a graduate assistant in the geology department and from 1950-1952, he was an instructor in geology at Kansas State. On November 27, 1947, in Kansas City, Missouri Mike married Helena Pointer. In 1948, Mike was employed in the field office of the U.S. Geological Survey-G. S. A., engineering geology of the Tuttle Creek Dam site in Manhattan, Kansas. In 195,1 he became a geologist and service engineer with Dowell Incorporated, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical. Mike and Helena moved to Rensselaer, Indiana, in 1952, when Mike joined the faculty of St. Joseph’s College where Mike was an instructor in geology. He took a leave of absence from St. Joseph’s College from 1954-1957 and was appointed the Chief Project Geologist with Knox-Bergman-Shearer Consulting and Photo Geologists in Denver, Colorado. While there, Mike was responsible for mapping and technical report writing of the geology of parts of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, comprising approximately 30,000 square miles. Returning to St. Joseph’s College in 1957, he was named Associate Professor, teaching geology, mineralogy, paleontology, stratigraphy-sedimentation, field mapping and photo geology. While at St. Joseph’s College, Mike was Assistant Director of summer college field camps from 1958-1962 and in 1971, serving students from five different colleges.
In 1966-67, he was the summer interim geology teacher at Indiana University Northwest. Mike was a member of numerous committees and boards from 1964-1984, including the National Association of Geology Teachers where he served at president of the east-central section from 1964-1966; the American Institute of Professional Geologists, serving as president of the Indiana section from 1971-1974, and in 1981 was a member of the Educational Affairs Committee of the American Institute of Professional Geologists.
In addition, Mike gave numerous professional presentations as well as authoring many professional publications. In 1980, Mike was the recipient of a professional grant for a 3-week study in the Peoples Republic of China. While at St. Joseph’s College, he served on the Athletic committee from 1958-1970, serving as chairman from 1961-1970; was the faculty representative on the President’s Administrative Council, 1964-1970; was the faculty representative to the St. Joseph’s College Board of Trustees, 1970-1981; was director of CORE 5-6, 1983-1984; and in 1984 was elected to the St. Joseph’s College Board of Trustees.
Mike was the recipient of the St. Joseph’s College Student Association Senate Wooden Cask award in 1978 and was co-chairman of the St. Joseph’s College Scholarship Dinner for many years. Additionally, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Joseph’s College. Mike was a member of the St. Augustine Catholic Church in Rensselaer. He enjoyed being involved in the communities in which he lived. Mike was elected in 1955 to the City Council in Edgewater, Colorado, a position he held until 1957 when he returned to St. Joseph’s College.
He was a member of the Rensselaer Lions Club from 1958-1978, serving as president in 1975-76, the Jasper County Economic Development Commission, serving as president in 1978, and Rensselaer American Legion Post #29. Mike gave presentations dealing with glacial geology, hydro geology, and the geology of Northwestern Indiana to various groups in Jasper, Newton, Benton and Pulaski counties, including Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Historical Societies, high and elementary schools, Boy Scout troops and 4-H clubs.
Surviving is his loving family, wife Helena P. Davis of Rensselaer; children: Catherine Flynn-Tymkow of Flossmoor, IL; M. Patricia (husband Mike) Brown of Cary, NC; Michael A. (wife Mara) Davis of Kentland, IN; Karen (husband Patrick) Davis-Marks of Calhoun, GA; Lisa Davis of Austin, TX and Timothy (wife Sally) Davis of Houston, TX; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Mike was preceded in death by his parents and two sons-in-law, Richard Flynn and Tony Tymkow.
