Davis, Audrey Lynn

HORSESHOE BEND, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —Audrey Lynn Davis, 72, of Horseshoe Bend, ID (formerly from Jerome, Gooding, and Fairfield, ID) passed away (surrounded by family) the morning of October 9, 2023, at Boise’s St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. She had many illnesses and fought a courageous battle with cancer over the past few months.

Audrey was born on May 21, 1951, in Gooding, ID to John and Dorothy Boulware. Audrey’s friends and family will always remember her strength, tenacity, sensitivity, compassion, and wit. Her entire life was dedicated to her family and helping others – she was a caregiver to young and old. She and her sister lost their father at a very young age. During this difficult time, their mother held multiple jobs to support the family; they all helped each other. Audrey’s passion for humanity contributed to a lifelong desire to help others in her community, especially those who faced hardships and challenges. She worked with the Jerome Youth Venture and Excitement Club (JYVE) and the community to establish the first recreational center for Jerome youth. She also managed a winterization program for the community. With her passion for helping disadvantaged and disabled children, she served as the Jerome Head Start Director. Her role included providing various social services to children. Through the years, she opened her heart and home to those in need, including foster children. In addition to raising her and her husband’s children, various grandchildren were blessed with her help and guidance. There was no stranger to Audrey, she welcomed any and all. When she made a friend, it was for life.

Audrey’s heart was truly big -- both literally and figuratively. She had a heart muscle that was abnormally thick. Audrey’s son was diagnosed with a very rare heart disease in 1979. It was so rare that they called it “Donavun’s Disease.” Doctors gave him less than 6 months to live and sent him home in Audrey and Don’s care. Audrey was not one to give up on anyone, certainly not her son. When he lived, he was called the miracle child. She researched and contributed to research that led to a better understanding of this rare disease which has since been identified as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). In 2015, nation-wide genetic research was conducted. Due, in part, to her efforts and research, our world now has a better understanding of the MYBPC3 gene and its connection to HCM. People, including her family, can now be tested for this gene and solutions identified for cardiac monitoring and life-saving treatments. Her love for her family and determination to find answers on HCM now helps save many lives.

Audrey had many fond childhood memories with her sister, brothers, nieces, nephews and cousins riding horses and living the country life. She and her sister loved their childhood on Camas Prairie, working on the ranch with their parents and going on roundups. Both of her parents handed down a love for horses – it was in her blood. Her favorite horses were Babe, the black thoroughbred mare, and Baby Legs. If she wasn’t nursing back a 3-legged horse or trying to keep a hairless calf alive in the dead of winter, she was opening her front door to anyone in need. She had a special talent and skill to bring back life to her plants and animals (like Witchy the horse that the vet gave up on).

Audrey was a very talented and skilled woman that mastered the do-it-yourself, fix-it school of hard knocks. If she wasn’t up on the roof patching repairs, she was envisioning the next grand project to add to her self-made castle we called “home.” She was a “pioneer at heart” and was in her element when dressed in her grandmother’s wedding dress, riding with her daughter-in-law (Deanna) in parades in her horse-drawn buggy. She loved researching her heritage and discovering where her hardy resilient strength originated. Audrey traveled with family various times to Grandby, CO where her ancestor, Henry Lehman, his wife, and three children arrived in an oxen-pulled, covered wagon. Her ancestors established the first working guest ranch/lodge in the mid-1880s near the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Audrey was united in marriage October 8, 1977, to Reed Sumner Davis (Don) which brought together a family with children from both sides. They had two sons. Later, Audrey and her husband would joke that they were raising “yours, mine, ours, and theirs.” They lived most of their married years in Jerome, ID. In 2007 they moved to Horseshoe Bend, ID above the Payette River. She loved the river, magnificent sunsets and rainbows.

Audrey is survived by her spouse, Don Davis, Horseshoe Bend, ID and their children: Tamera (Steve) Geldmacher, Farmington, AR, Joey L. (Joy) Davis, Jerome, ID, Heather (Timothy) Davis Gonzalez, Hagerman, ID, Megan Davis, Bellevue, ID, Tina Cohutt, Kelso, WA, Donavun Davis, Horseshoe Bend, ID, and Nathaniel (Deanna) Davis, Riggins, ID. She was blessed with many grandchildren: Derrick Light, Devin Light, Caelan Young, Eli Young, Karlie Davis, Rory Davis, Zakkery Martin, Jody Martin, Iain Gonzalez, Annie Gonzalez, Tyler Davis, Hannah Ferrario, Gracelynn Brooks, Faith Head, Eva May Ginn, Krystin Dawn Madison, Amy Peterson, Colton Bell, Connor Bell, Kayla Raley, Dakota Maury, and Riley Davis. Her legacy will also live on through her 16 great-grandchildren.

Audrey is also survived by her sister Joyce (Frank) Krahn, Boise, ID. She always considered her brother-in-law her brother. She also has nieces, nephews, and cousins who were very special to her. One of their best memories was rolling down the highway with her, listening and singing to her favorite country songs “sometimes over and over and over.”

She is preceded in death by her parents, as well as half-brothers and sisters-in-law: Dan (Shirley) Gorrell, Alvin (Vena) Gorrell, Calvin (Janet) Gorrell, Larry (Ruthie) Gorrell, Carroll Gorrell, and David Prince.

This beloved, compassionate soul will be missed and remembered by the many lives she touched. Audrey loved flowers, plants, and her garden. In her memory, please plant your favorite flower.

The family would like to thank the many St. Al’s doctors and nurses that took care of her. She was most grateful to her oncologist (Dr. Leila Khaddour) and Palliative Care NP (Sam) for fighting the cancer every step of the way with her. To make life a little easier with the multitude of medical appointments, tests, and treatments, she spent the majority of her last few months in Boise with her primary caregivers (Joyce, Frank-the rock, Donavun, and Joey).

Cremation arrangements are with Bowman Funeral Home, Garden City, ID.

A Celebration of Life is being planned for early next summer in her favorite place (Fairfield, ID).

Condolences, memories and photos can be shared with the family by following the obituary link at www.demarayfuneralservice.com