Joseph Wendell Davidson

Click to listen to the funeral service. Available until September 23, 2016.

Joseph Wendell Davidson died June 18, 2016 of complications of Parkinson's disease. He was the son of Phineas Ross "Phin" and Martha Romelia Ranson Davidson, born November 9, 1932, on the family farm near Stockport, Iowa. He graduated from Fort Madison, Iowa, High School where he earned a letter playing football. Afterwards he served in the U. S. Navy during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953. Returning to the University of Iowa, he joined the wrestling team, earning a letter in that sport and furthering his love of athletics. With a degree in labor management, he took assignments in industrial engineering with manufacturing firms Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Collins Radio, and Square D.

In 1974, while finishing a master's degree at the University of Iowa, Joe joined the United States Postal Service, overseeing modernization and automation of sorting systems. For fifteen years he spent 80% of his time in the field, flying between facilities, visiting postmasters, and discussing problems with team leaders in the Northeast and Western Regions. He was stationed in San Antonio, Los Angeles, Hartford, and San Francisco. His final ten years were spent at Postal Headquarters in Washington D.C. until he retired in January 2000. He composed a notable family history, the "Davidson Clan Heritage-10 Generations."

Joe married Carol Ann Burger in 1956 and later divorced. They had two children, Jeff and Julie. He married Nola Conway in 1986; she died in 2013. He married Sarah Weller Prentiss, a re-discovered friend, in 2014, and they have been living in Holladay, Utah.   He joined the LDS Church, where he was an innovative and conscientious home teacher in the Holladay 24th Ward.

He is predeceased by his sister, Twila Davidson Lane. He is survived by his wife, Sarah; and also by his son, Jeffrey Robert Davidson of Iowa City, Iowa; daughter, Julie Ann Davidson of Washington, D. C.; cousin, Park Davidson of Greensboro, North Carolina; and nephews, Gary Lane of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and Steven Lane of Birmingham, Iowa.

Thanks go to caregivers Vika Valahulu and Salote “Lote” Tuiaki and to Canyon Hospice.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 25, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at the Holladay North Stake Center, 4395 South Albright Drive, where friends and family can visit from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. prior to the service. Interment will be at Elysian Burial Gardens. Guestbook to share condolences with the family available at: www.HolbrookMortuary.com

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the LDS Church Missionary Fund or Temple Fund.