Notes from the Old Noank Jail

Howard Davis remembered

by Ed Johnson

When Howard Davis of Noank passed away December 7th, he left behind a legacy of what it really meant to be a man of simple pleasures, with loyalty to his family and proud craftsmanship with his work. In his earlier Noank years, he had worked as a boat builder and “caulker” and later brought those skills to the shops at Mystic Seaport. When advanced age made it difficult for him to work with his hands, the Seaport utilized him until recently as a walking historian and storyteller. As luck would have it, the day Howard was to be honored at a special Seaport ceremony, he fell down, broke his hip and was hospitalized. On December 7th, we received the following message from Dr. Paul Hayes, Minister of Noank Baptist Church:

“This morning Howard Davis passed away after a long and storied life. He died peacefully as a man of great faith and anticipation of being reunited with his beloved wife, Mary. He leaves us with innumerable memories of living in Noank and with tales he told at the Seaport. He will be missed as a dear man and as a vital part of our local village. Please remember his daughter, Sue Roselund, and other family members in your thoughts and prayers.”

My wife and I moved to Noank back in the seventies after having met both Mary and Howard Davis initially through friends living nearby and they lost no time in helping us get oriented as new members with the Noank Baptist Church. Howard sensed correctly that we needed to establish roots, especially as we now had a young child to raise.

We noticed immediately that Mary and Howard had sharp eyes and rarely missed details. They were protective of their neighbor’s children, one of whom was constantly getting into mischief, but were forgiving of their mistakes. Mary also gave Howard considerable support with his work at the Mystic Seaport and always patiently encouraged his home projects (boats, naturally), which were considerable distractions.

Mary and Howard truly enjoyed doing the simple things in life together. Going to a SUNL luncheon or having a Sunday fish dinner at Howard Johnson’s were noteworthy events for both of them. Howard would frequently wax eloquent about the specific menu of the SUNL luncheons when reporting back in our church business meetings, much to the amusement of Mary and the other church members. The actual subjects of the meetings themselves were usually glossed over as a result. We just wanted Howard to ramble on in his sharp, “down east” New England accent…describing the menu…and keeping us in stitches. He had a wonderful, dry sense of humor that could frequently catch people off guard.

We are going to miss Howard a great deal now that he is gone. He was a part of the Noank community that we found attractive and made us decide to move here from New Jersey. Mary and Howard together represented an older, more stable lifestyle involving real community commitment, but without fanfare. They were calm, steady, quiet role models, never seeking recognition but always receiving respect. We will always be grateful to both of them for allowing us to share in their lives and the lessons we learned as a result. Howard has now rejoined Mary; may God bless both of them.