James Aubrey Davis, 75, Hoquiam resident and former software company executive, passed away on June 13, 2022, at Harbor Regional Health in Aberdeen, Washington.

James was born on Aug. 16, 1946, in Many, Louisiana to Aubrey Benjamin and Vella (Wagner) Davis. He grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and graduated from Pine Bluff High School in 1964. He then enrolled in Arkansas State University for the next 1.5 years studying Journalism. He joined the United States Marine Corps on April 28, 1966, and arrived in Vietnam just in time for the Tet Offensive. He was a Corporal and Crew Chief on a Medivac CH-46. He earned two Bronze Stars with Presidential Citations for going into a hot zone to get injured out of harm’s way. He was honorably discharged in September 1969.

On Nov. 13, 1969, James married Judith Shannon in Pine Bluff. She resides at the family home.

James enrolled in Hendrix College and moved to Conway, Arkansas in 1971. He graduated in 1974, with his Business Degree and joined Burroughs Corp. In 1977, the family began their computer industry odyssey and moved to Overland Park, Kansas where he also worked for Digital Equipment Corp. and then to Irvine, California in 1982 where he worked for PDA Engineering. In 1984 he joined the nascent Sun Microsystems and moved to Roswell, Georgia to open sales offices in the Southeast and then to Half Moon Bay, California two years later. He took a job at Apple in 1988 and moved to Saratoga, California in 1989. He became President of the Business Software Division of Hewlett Packard, moving to Ft. Collins, Colorado in 1994. In 2000, they moved to Menlo Park, California and then to Upper Saddle River, New Jersey in 2003 after James joined SunGard Data Systems. In 2007, they moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he was President and CEO of Verified Person. He retired in 2016, and they moved permanently to their home in Hoquiam, Washington.

James was a techno geek, working on computers and systems. He had the perfect career doing what he loved and he enjoyed being the neighborhood tech guy. He and Judy loved to travel and Lake Como or Apulia, Italy were his favorite destinations. James was a board member of Timberland Bank until his retirement in August 2021. He was also a member of the Hoquiam Crime Watch.

James is survived by his wife of 52 years, Judith Davis of Hoquiam, Washington and a son Shannon James Davis of Lacey, Washington.

The family is planning a celebration of life for friends and family at a later date.

Memorials may be made to Grays Harbor Community Foundation.

Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, Washington.