Dorothy Davis, 97
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 2 days, 10 hours AGO
Dorothy Davis
After a wonderful life that was well lived, Dorothy Davis passed away July 23, 2026, at the Schneidmiller House in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She was born Aug. 29, 1928, in Belfield, N.D., near the Badlands, to Jacob and Mary Schuessler. Dorothy started school as one of four students in a country school in 1933. Between the Depression, her father’s railroad job ending and a drought, Dorothy and her family had to work hard to get in the garden produce and raise their animals.
When her friends all went to jobs far away, Dorothy stayed and at 16 was teaching in a country school. She attended college and taught school for the next seven years. In 1951, she was reunited with old school friend Gene Davis. They married in Billings, Mont., in 1953.
They started a family and lived on several ranches in Wyoming and Montana before moving to Idaho in 1974 to help run a dude ranch near Harrison, Idaho. Dorothy helped with every aspect of the ranch, but especially cooking and feeding great groups of travelers. They later bought about 40 acres in the Carlin Bay area. Dorothy worked for Panhandle Health as a caregiver to elderly people in her area and retired in 2000. She was a member of the Krafty Ladies in Harrison and enjoyed quilting, traveling, gardening and “messing around on the computer.”
Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, Gene, and her son, Mike.
Dorothy is survived by her daughter, Dorene, and Tom Knecht, her daughter-in-law, Sharon Davis; grandchildren Stephanie and James Mead, Vickie and Craig Alexander, Lori Stafford and Chase Anderson; great grandchildren Isaiah, Gavin, Ella and Hunter; step-grandchildren, Mack and Missy Knecht, Amanda Knecht and Kenny Miller, Onie Knecht; step great-grandchildren Pat, Kenzie, Neil, Otelia, Jaxen and Xavier.
A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 31, 2026, at Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d’Alene Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Crane Historical Society, P.O. Box 152, Harrison, ID 83833. Please sign Dorothy’s guestbook at yatesfuneralhomes.com.