VALDOSTA – Mike Firesmith was planning to marry his girlfriend, the late Debi Davis. Time was not on their side.

The two were going to get married once the pandemic settled but they never received the chance. 

Deborah “Debi” Sue Davis – an art educator in the Valdosta community – died April 2 of melanoma, skin cancer. 

The 68-year-old was first diagnosed with and treated for cancer eight years ago, Firesmith said. On Jan. 7, the family learned it returned as a tumor on her brain that kept getting larger, he said. 

With Firesmith by her side, she died at home while under hospice care.

“I can’t explain to you the feeling that you’re relieved that someone is no longer suffering,” he said.

Davis was cremated, and there are plans to spread her ashes in places that meant the most to her, Firesmith said.

Family members and friends gathered at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts Saturday, April 17, to honor Davis. They shared stories, lasting memories of their time with her. 

Her Life

She was born Deborah Mayer in St. Louis, Mo., and relocated to Valdosta as a teenager, said her only child, Scott Davis. She was born Feb. 27, 1953, and was the youngest of five children, the family said.

She became a lover of art in her early days, admiring the ability art afforded a person to be able to express themselves.

She attended school in Lowndes County and earned a master’s of art degree from Valdosta State University, according to her obituary published in The Valdosta Daily Times.

She married the late Jeffery Davis, according to the obituary.

Scott said she was versed in a multitude of mediums.

“What mediums didn’t she do?” he asked.

She was skilled in acrylic and oil painting, oil pastels, colored pencils, watercolors, clay, beads, glass, paper, textiles, dyes, photography and basket weaving – all mediums Scott remembers doing with her.

He recalls her sewing his Halloween costumes and he said she used to teach paper making.

“If it’s an art option, she probably did it at least once,” he said. 

She would create articulated bunnies made out of fabric and sell them at crafts shows. Scott said he would go with her.

His cousin, Kelly Kocik, who spent 15 summers with her Aunt Debi, remembers attending art programs and classes with her. 

She describes her relationship with Davis as that of a mother and a daughter. She said Davis would pick her up the weekend after school ended and spend time with her throughout the entire summer.

“I correlate art with her in everything; her fashion, her talents,” Kocik said, who added Davis had been creative her entire life.

She taught school in the Lowndes County School System. 

She was elected to serve as the Georgia Art Education Association president 2009-11 while an Dewar Elementary School art teacher, according to a past report in The Valdosta Daily Times.

“Really, the post is a six-year commitment. She serves from 2007-09 as president-elect. Following Davis’ two years as president, she will serve as past-president from 2011-13,” the report stated.

“As the GAEA president, Davis will represent art educators throughout the state but, given she may well be the association’s first president from South Georgia, she sees her role as an opportunity for the area.”

After teaching at Lowndes, she became the arts education administrator for the Turner Center. She worked at Turner from 2016-20 before she landed a job at Valdosta State University as adjunct professor where she taught aspiring art teachers.

She had only been at the university a few months before she died.

“Debi was a ray of sunshine to all people,” said Sementha Mathews, executive director of the Turner Center. “She was a part-time employee at the Turner Center, but she was a full-time artist, always engaged in the arts through her ability to create beautiful works and to share them with others.”

She met her significant other – Firesmith – at the arts center. 

In December 2018, he was visiting the center, picking up items for a writer’s group in which he was a member. He noticed an abstract painting in Davis’ office and decided to speak to her about it. 

“The conversation wound up lasting about two and a half hours,” he said. “We talked about art, we talked about what she did up there, we talked about a lot of things and I walked out the building with her phone number.”

Upon first interacting with her, he thought her to be extremely professional and knowledgeable about her craft.

At her home, near a river in the county, Firesmith said she had a personal art museum. 

“She had something from her students,” he said. “She had something from people she’s known. She was just immersed in the art world.”

The couple attended art events together and had plans to travel to museums. 

Firesmith’s favorite moment with Davis took place while hiking and coming across a blocked trail. 

There was a fence, and Firesmith said rather than turning around as other people would, a 67-year-old Davis opted to climb the fence. Naturally, he said he went behind her and they continued onto the trail on the other side of the fence.

He said that moment spoke to who Davis was as a person.

“She was not fenced in,” Firesmith said. “She was willing to go above boundaries, and that’s how we’ll remember her is somebody that wasn’t boxed in.”

He said she never succumbed to fear or despair.

Scott Davis said the greatest lesson his mother taught him was to display strength, to not give up and to persevere.

As for what Kocik will miss the most about Debi Davis, she said it would be the advice she’d give, the weekly text messages exchanged and her laugh.

“Her heart was her best quality,” Kocik said. “She was just so kind.”

Goodbye, Debi

Though Davis’ memorial was held on a cool and rainy evening, the atmosphere in the Turner Center’s Art Park was warm with love. 

A photo presentation of her scrolled across the screen, displaying memories she made with others.

Eyes teared up as former co-workers, former students and others exchanged stories about their late friend. Most of the speeches focused on Davis’ life as an educator.

Wearing a bright red shirt that Davis gave him, Firesmith started the round of memories. He said they had previously held a conversation about art when Debi expressed that people aren’t photographed in red much because they aren’t bold enough.

Well, for Christmas, she gave him the shirt as a reminder to be bold, he said.

Scott Davis told the small crowd that his mother “was a teacher to everybody for as long as I can remember.”

Donnte Troy was taught by Davis at Lowndes Middle School and VSU. She told everyone how Davis helped prepare her to teach a lesson. 

“Everybody needs a Debi,” she said, “and I pray that if you are a student-teacher and you’re here and you met her, I pray that somewhere in your life, you get the chance to have a Debi because that Debi helped me to grow past what I thought I needed.”

Cathy Malone worked with Davis at Lowndes Middle. 

She called Davis an encourager.

“She meant so much to all of us at Lowndes Middle, and to her students, and I’m just very thankful for the encouragement she gave me and the inspiration she was for me,” she said.

Cheryl Oliver, who was the Turner Center’s executive director at the time of Davis’ employment, said she was a treasure. 

Family members urge the community to remember Davis as a teacher. They said she loved her students dearly.

Mathews said it’s her passion that her students will remember. 

They’ll keep in mind her desire for everyone to have access to art’s “powerful expression of life,” Mathews said.

“But her infectious laughter and smile are what people will remember most about her good-spirited and positive nature that made people feel welcomed and accepted,” she said.

Samantha Davis, Scott’s wife, said her mother-in-law was always joyful and was happy to teach and learn.

“She never considered herself the caliber of artist that she was,” Samantha said. “She loved introducing other people to it (art). She was so proud of the students that were able to grow up and express themselves in the medium that she taught them. I think that made her more proud than the artwork she painted with her own hands.”

Firesmith said her students were her passion and are her legacy. 

She loved her students and was loved by her students. 

Firesmith said teaching art “was her life’s dream.”

“She knew how to reach people,” he said. “She knew how to figure out a person’s strength and weakness in their art. She was extremely kind. … She was dedicated to turning out good teachers. Her dedication to her craft was amazing. It was a wonderful thing to behold.” 

If Kelly could speak to her aunt one more time, she said she’d tell Davis thank you.

“I don’t think I told her that enough,” she said. “She taught me a lot. I think I relied on her more than I think I thought I did, and now that she’s gone, I kind of realize (that).

Scott said he would tell his mom that he loves her while Samantha said she’d tell Debi how much she misses her.

As for Firesmith, he urges people who wish to get married or to do the things they want to not wait.

“You can run out of time at any moment,” he said.