Dallas

Funeral Service Held for Former Councilwoman Carolyn Davis, Daughter Melissa

Funeral for Former Dallas City Council Member and Her Daughter

Hundreds of mourners gathered Monday for the funeral of former Dallas City Council Member Carolyn Davis and her daughter Melissa Davis-Nunn.

Both women were involved in a crash July 15 with a driver who told police he'd taken Xanax. Davis was killed in the accident. Davis-Nunn died of her injuries the next day.

Davis was elected by her neighbors to four terms on the Dallas City Council, from 2007 to 2015, serving a district that includes the South Dallas and Fair Park areas.

Both women were members of Kirkwood Temple CME Church but the funeral service was held at much larger Inspiring Body of Christ Church on South Westmoreland Road in Dallas to accommodate the crowd.

The Kirkwood Temple Choir filled the large sanctuary with uplifting music and Kirkwood Pastor Jerry Christian gave a rousing eulogy.

"The lack of institutional oversight collided with goodness," Rev. Christian said. "No matter the nature of the storms, with Jesus on board, it will pass,"

Dignitaries lined up to pay their respects and deliver tributes for Carolyn Davis.

"She drew no distinction between the high and the low, none between the rich and the poor," said Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson recalled working with Davis when he was a State Representative.

"And I remember her mostly as being a very kind and gentle person. When a lot of people weren’t so nice to me, she always was. She cared deeply about South Dallas," Johnson said.

Dallas City Council Member Tennell Atkins, who served with Davis, spoke on behalf of other current and former City Council Members.

"She may have been short but she didn’t mind standing up, tall and strong," Atkins said.

Atkins remembered how Davis worried about who would care for her special needs daughter Melissa if the mother preceded the child in death, but now Atkins said God would help Davis look after Melissa.

"In everything there is a blessing," Atkins said.

Former Dallas City Council Member Diane Ragsdale was a political mentor for Davis.

"She honored the homeless. She honored those who were unemployed and under employed," Ragsdale said. "Carolyn Davis kept it real. We loved her for speaking from her heart with passion."

The funeral was followed by internment at Lincoln Memorial Park on Murdock Road in Dallas.

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